• 


Jirst  Meat-  of  the  Wat, 


-■  a 


THE 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


BY 


EDWARD   A.   POLLARD, 

AUTHOR    OF    "BLACK    DIAMONDS,"    ETC. 


CORRECTED    AND    IMTROVED    EDITION. 


R I C  H  M  0  N  D  : 
WEST  &  JOHNSTON,  145  MAIN  STREET. 

1862. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862, 

By  WEST  &  JOHNSTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Confederate  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Virginia. 


^HAS.    H.   "WYNNE,    PRINTER. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  the  following;  pages  have  beet! 
written  without  anything  like  literary  ambition.  They  have  been 
composed  by  the  author,  with  but  little  aid,  within  the  short  period 
of  three  months,  and  in  the  midst  of  exacting  occupations  in  the 
editorial  department  of  a  daily  newspaper. 

These  explanations  are  not  made  to  disarm  criticism.  Their  pur- 
pose  is  only  to  define  the  claim  which  the  author's  work  makes  at  the 
bar  of  public  criticism.  lie  does  not  pretend  to  have  written  a  bril- 
liant or  elaborate  book;  but  he  does  claim  to  have  composed,  without 
seeking  after  literary  ornaments,  or  taxing  his  style  with  intellectual 
refinements,  a  compact,  faithful  and  independent  popular  narrative  of 
the  events  of  the  first  year  of  the  existing  war. 

The  author  has  but  little  of  obligation  to  express,  except  to  his 
publishers,  Messrs.  West  &  Johnston,  of  Richmond,  to  whom  he 
would  make  a  public  acknowledgment  for  their  generous  encourage- 
ment, liberality  and  enterprising  endeavours,  which  have  enabled 
him,  under  many  inauspicious  circumstances,  to  complete  his  work. 

Richmond,  Virginia,  July,   18G2. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  author,  in  presenting  to  the  public  a  second  edition  of  his 
work,  has  taken  occasion  to  correct  some  errours,  to  make  material 
annotations,  and  to  add  a  supplementary  chapter,  tracing  the  progress 
and  developments  of  the  war  from  the  concluding  point  of  the  first 
year  of  its'  history  to  the  period  of  publication. 

He  desires  to  make  his  grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  favour 
with  which  his  work  has  already  been  received  by  the  public ;  for 
numerous  kind  notices  of  the  newspaper  press,  and  for  words  of 
encouragement  spoken  by  many  whom  he  is  proud  to  call  his  friends. 
The  success  with  which  hrs  work  has  so  far  met,  being  unprecedented, 
he  believes,  in  the  literary  enterprises  of  the  South,  has  surprised  and 
gratified  the  author.  He  protests,  however,  that,  under  any  circum- 
stances, he  has  but  little  literary  vanity  to  be  inflated;  that  he 
composed  his  w&rk  in  haste,  with  neither  time  nor  purpose  to  polish 
his  style,  or  to  captivate  the  taste  of  readers,  and  that  he  is  content 
to  ascribe  the  success  of  his  book  to  the  fact  that,  though  rudely 
written  and  imperfect  in  many  particulars,  it  is,  as  he  believes, 
honest,  fair,  independent  and  outspoken. 

While  such  has  been  the  general  character  of  the  reception  given 
his  book  by  the  public,  the  author  is  sensible  that  some  attacks  have 
been  made  upon  it  from  malicious  and  disappointed  sources,  and  that 
the  honest  record  which  he  has  attempted  of  the  truth  of  histor}-,  has 
been  encountered  by  many  unjust,  ignorant  and  contemptible  criti- 
cisms, emanating  mainly  from  favourites  of  the  government  and 
literary  slatterns  in  the  Departments.  The  author  has  made  no 
attempt  to  conciliate  either  these  creatures  or  their  masters ;  he  is  not 
in  the  habit  of  toadying  to  great  men,  and  courting  such  public 
whores  as  "  official "  newspapers ;  he  is  under  no  obligations  to  any 
man  living  to  flatter  him,  to  tell  lies,  or  to  abate  anything  from  the 
honest  convictions  of  his  mind.  He  proposed  to  write  an  independent 
history  of  some  of  the  events  of  the  existing  war.  He  is  willing  for 
his  work  to  be  judged  by  the  straitest  rule  of  truth;  he  asks  no 
favours  for  it,  in  point  ot  accuracy;  he  only  protesis  agamau  «,.....  .. 


Vlll  PKEFACE   TO   SECOND   EDITION.  , 

criticism,  which  exalts  paid  panegyric  above  honest  truth,  and  reduces 
the  level  of  the  historian  to  that  of  the  scrubs  and  scribblers  who 
write  poetry  and  puffs  in  newspaper  corners. 

The  flatterer's  idea  of  the  history  of  the  present  war  would  no 
doubt  be  to  plaster  the- government  with  praises;  to  hide  all  the  faults 
of  the  people  of  the  South  while  gilding  their  virtues ;  to  make  for 
a  consideration  "  especial  mention  "  of  all  the  small  trash  in  the  army  ; 
to  coat  his  puffs  thickly  with  fine  writing  and  tremendous  adjectives; 
and  to  place  over  the  whole  painted  and  gilded  mass  of  falsehood  the 
frgure  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  as  the  second  Daniel  come  to  judgment. 
The  author  has  no  ambition  to  gratify  in  these  lrterary  elegances. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  historian  the  person  of  Mr..  Jefferson  Davis  is  no 
more  sacred  than  that  of  the  meanest  agent  in  human  affairs.  The 
author  has  not  been  disposed  to  insult  the  dignity  of  office  by  coarse 
speeches;  he  recognizes  a  certain  propriety  of  style  even  in  attacking 
the  grossest  public  abuses;  but,  while  he  has  avoided  indecency,  and 
heat  of  language,  and  has,  on  the  other  hand,  not  attempted  the  ele-  • 
gance  and  elevation  of  the  literary  artist,  he  trusts  that  he  has  given 
his  opinions  of  the  government  and  public  persons  with  the  decent  but 
fearless  and  uncompromising  freedom  of  the  conscientious  historian. 
He  is  certain  that  he  has  given  these  opinions  without  prejudice 
against  the  Administration  in  this  war.  The  danger  7s,  in  such  a  con- 
test as  we  are  waging,  that  we  will  be  too  favorably  and  generously 
disposed  towards  the  government,  rather  than  prejudiced  against  it — 
that  we  will  be  blind  to  its  faults,  rather  than  eager  and  exacting  in 
their  exposure. 

The  author  is  aware  that  the  views  expressed  in  this  work  of  the 
autocracy  of  President  Davis,  and  the  extraordinary  absorption  in 
himself  of*  all  the  offices  of  the  government,  have  been  resented  with 
much  temper  by  critics  in  some  of  the  newspapers.  He  would  ask 
these  persons  who  are  so  anxious  to  vindicate  the  character  of  Mr. 
Davis  in  this  respect,  for  a  single  instance  in  the  history  of  the  war, 
where  the  Cabinet  has  interposed  any  views  of  its  own,  addressed  any 
counsel  to  the  government,  or  been  anything  more  than  a  collection  of 
dummies.  In  ail  our  experience  hitherto  of  republican  government, 
we  hear  of  views  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  counsel  of  this  or  that  mem- 
ber.' In  this  war  these  common  observations  are  lacking ;  the  Cabinet 
is  dumb  or  absolutely  servile.;  we  have  never  heard  a  syllable  from  it 
on  a.  single  question  of  national  importance,  and  the  voice  of  the 
President  alone  decides  the  conduct  of  the  war,  distributes  the  patron- 
no.-   - e   J      u  ""*)  "uu  twrcca  tutu  practice  the  constitutional 


PREFACE   TO    SECOND    EDITION.  ix 

fiction   of  himself    being   the    Commander-in-chief    of  oar  armies. 
These  facts  are  notorious  in  the  streets  of  Richmond. 

The  Cabinet  of  President  Davis  has  really  no  constitutional 
existence.  The  Cabinet  has  many  objects  to  serve  in  our  system  of 
government.  It  was  designed  as  a  check  to  Executive  power;  it  was 
intended  to  cull  and  collect  the  wisdom  of  the*country  in  the  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs;  it  shares  the  qualities  of  a  popular  system  of 
representation  with  the  conservatism  and  virtues  of  aristocracy;  it 
constitutes  the  highest  and  gravest  council  in  our  form  of  govern, 
ment.  Certainly  not  one  of  these  constitutional  offices  has  been 
fulfilled  by'  the  Cabinet  of  President  Davis,  and  History  is  forced  to 
confess  that  the  harmony  of  our  government  has  been  deranged  by 
striking  from  it  an  important,  valuable  and  essential  part. 

The  author  is  sensible  that  another  ignorant  rule  of  criticism  besides 
that  of  the  professional  political  flatterer  has  been  unjustly  applied 
to  his  work.  He  is  informed  that  there  are  persons  so  childish  and 
contemptibly  ignorant  as  to  have  decried  his  work  on  the  ground  that 
it  has  exposed  abuses  in  our  administration,  and  faults  in  our  people, 
which  will  be  a  gratification  and  comfort  to  the  enemy.  The  objection 
is  simply  absurd  and  contemptible.  Throwing  out  of  considc 
the  interest  of  truth,  it  is  surely  much  better,  even  on  the  narrow 
ground  of  expediency,  to  expose  abuses  and  to  let  the  enemy  have 
What  pleasure  and  comfort  he  can  from  them,  than  to  permit  them, 
unnoticed  and  uncorrected,  to  sap  the  strength  of  our  country,  and 
publish  their  conclusion  to  the  world  in  the  ultimate  ruin  of  our  cause. 
There  are  ignoramuses  in  the  Southern  Confederacy  who  think  it 
necessary  in  this  war  that  all  the  books  and  newspapers  in  the  country 
should  publish  everything  in  the  South  in  coleur  de  rose  ;  drunken 
patriots,  cowards  in  epaulets,  crippled  toadies,  and  meVi  luring  on  the 
charity  of  Jefferson  Davis,  trained  to  damn  all  newspapers  and  publi- 
cations in  the  South  for  pointing  out  abuses  in  places  of  authority,  for 
ge  reason  that  kdowledge  of  these  abuses  will  comfort  the  enemy 
and  tickle  the  cars  of  the  Yankees.  These  creatures  would  have  a 
v  written  which  would  conseal  all  the  shortcomings  of  our 
administration,  and  represent  that  our  army  was  perfect  in  discipline, 
'and  immaculate  in  morals;  that  our  people  were  feeding  on  milk  and 
honey;  that  our  generalship  was  without  fault,  and  that  Jefferscm 
Davis  was  the  most  perfect  and  admirable  man  since  the  days  of 
Moses— all  for  the  purpose  of  wearing  a  false  mask  to  the  enemy. 
They  would  betray  our  cause  while  hoodwinking  the  enemy;  they 
would  make  a  virtue  of  falsehood;  they  would  destroy  the  indepen- 


X  PREFACE   TO   SECOND   EDITION. 

dence  of  all  ^published  thought  in  the  country.     The  author  spits 
upon  the  criticisms  of  such  creatures.  y 

So  much  the  author  has  thought  it  necessary  to  say  with  reference 
to  two  classes  of  critics,  who  have  attacked  not  only  his  book,  but 
every  form  of  free  and  independent  thought  in  the  country.  With 
reference  to  the  public*,  confident  as  the  author  is  of  the  rectitude  of 
their  decision,  he  is  content  to  submit  his  work  to  their  judgment, 
without  importuning  their  favour. 

Finally,  the  author  begs  to  make,  without  temper  and  in  the  fewest 
words,  a  plain  and  summary  vindication  of  the  character  and  objects 
of  his  work. 

Every  candid  mind  must  be  sensible  of  the  futility  of  attempting 
a  high  order  of  historical  composition  in  the  treatment  of  recent  and 
incomplete  events ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  cotemporary  annal, 
the  popular  narrative,  and  other  inferiour  degrees  of  history  can  have 
no  value  and  interest,  because  they  cannot  compete  in  accuracy  with 
the  future  retrospect  of  events.  The  vulgar  notion  of  history  is,  that 
it  is  a  record  intended  for  posterity.  The  author  contends  that  his- 
tory has  an  ofiice  to  perform  in  the  present,  and  that  one  of  the  great- 
est values  of  cotemporary  annals  is  to  vindicate  in  good  time  to  the 
world  the  fame  and  reputation  of  nations. 

With  this  object  constantly  in  view,  the  author  has  composed  this 
work.  He  will  accomplish  his  object  and  be  rewarded  with  a  complete 
satisfaction,  if  his  unpretending  book  shall  have  the  effect  of  promot- 
ing more  extensive  inquiries ;  enlightening  the  present;  vindicating 
the  principles  of  a  great  contest  to  the  cotemporary  world;  and  putting 
before  the  living  generation,  in  a  convenient  form  of  literature,  and  at 
an  early  and  opportune  time,  the  name  and  deeds  of  our  people. 
• - 

Richmond,.  September,  1862. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Delusive  Ideas  of  the  Union. ..Administration  of  John  Adams. ..The  "Strict 
Constructionists  "...The  "State  Rights"  Men  in  the  North. ..The  Missouri 
Restriction. ..General  Jackson  and  the  Nullification  Question. ..The  Compro- 
mise Measures  of  1850. ..History  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Party. ..The  "Pinckney 
Resolutions  "...The  Twenty-first  Rule. ..The  Abolitionists  in  the  Presidential 
Canvass  of  1852. ..The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill. ..The  Rise  and  Growth  of  the 
Republican  Party. ..Th#  Election  of  President  Buchanan. ..The  Kansas  Con- 
troversy... "Lccompton"  and  "Anti-Lecompton  "...Results  of  the  Kansas 
Controversy. ..The  John  Brown  Raid..."  Helper's  Book  "...Demoralization  of 
the  Northern  Democratic  Party. ..The  Faction  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas. ..The 
Alabama  Resolutions. ..The  Political  Platforms  of  1860. ..Election  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States... Analysis  of  the  Vote. ..Political 
Condition  of  the  North. ..Secession  of  South  Carolina. ..Events  in  Charleston 
Harbour. ..Disagreements  iu  Mr.  Buchanan's  Cabinet.. .The  Secession  Move- 
ment in  Progress. ..Peace  Measures  in  Congress. ..The  Crittenden  Resolu- 
tions...The  Peace  Congress. ..Policy  of  the  Border  Slave  States. ..Organization 
of  the  Confederate  States  Government. ..President  Buchanan. ..Incoming  of 
the  Administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln. ..Strength  of  the  Revolution. 

I  Page  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Journey  to  Washington. ..Ceremonies  of  the  Inauguration... 
The  Inaugural  Speech  of  President  Lincoln. ..The  Spirit  of  the  New  Admin- 
istration...Its  Financial  Condition. ..Embassy  from  the  Southern  Confederacy... 
Perfidious  Treatment  of  the  Southern  Commissioners. ..Preparations  for  War 
...The  Military  Bills  of  the  Confederate  Congress. ..General  Beauregard. ..For- 
tifications of  the  Charleston  Harbour. ..Naval  Preparations  of  the  Federal 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Government...  Attempted  Re-inforcement  of  Fort  Sumter. ..Perfidy  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government. ..Excitement  in  Charleston. ..Reduction  of  Fort. Sumter  by 
the  Confederate  Forces. ..How  the  News  was  Received  in  Washington. ..Lin- 
coln's Calculation. ..His  Proclamation  of  W  ah. ..The  "  Reaction  "  in  the  North 
...Displays  of  Rancour  Towards  the  South. ..Northern  Democrats. ..Replies  of 
Southern  Governors  to  Lincoln's  Requisition  for  Troops... Spirit  of  the  South 
...Secession  of  Virginia. ..Maryland. ..The  Baltimore  Riot. ..Patriotic  Example 
of  Missouri... Liucoln's  Proclamation  Blockading  the  Southern  Ports. ..Gen- 
eral Lee. ..The  Federals  Evacuate  Harper's  Ferry. ..Burning  of  the  Navy  Tard 
at  Norfolk. ..The  Second  Secessionary  Movement. ..Spirit  of  Patriotic  Devo- 
tion in  the  South. ..Supply  of  Arms  in  the  South. ..The  Federal  Government 
and  the  State  of  Maryland. ..The  Prospect.  ....         Page  61 

CHAPTER  III. 

Confidence  of -the  North. ..Characteristic  Boasts..."  Crushing  out  the  Re- 
bellion "....Volunteering  in  the  Northern  Cities.. ..The  New  York  "  Invinci- 
bles"... Misrepresentations  of  the  Government  at.  Washington. ..Mr.  Seward's 
Letter' to  the  French  Government...  Another  call  for  Federal  Volunteers... 
Opening  movements  of  the  Campaign. ..The  Federal  occupation  of  Alexan- 
dria...Death  of  Col.  Ellsworth. ..Fortress  Monroe. ..The  Battle  of  Bethel... 
Results  of  this  Battle. ..General  Joseph  E.  Johnston. ..The  Upper  Potomac..., 
Evacuation  and  Destruction  of  Harper's  Ferry. ..The  Movements  in  the  Upper 
Portion  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia. ..Northwestern  Virginia. ..The  Battle  of 
Rich  Mountain. ..Carrock's  Ford. ..The  Retreat  of  the  Confederates. ..General 
McClellan... Meeting  of  the  Federal  Congress. ..Mr.  Lincoln's  Message... Ken- 
tucky....Western  Virginia... .Large  requisitions  for  Men  and  Money  by  the 
Federal  Government... .Its  Financial  Condition..-.. Financial  Measures  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy. ...Contrast  between  the  Ideas  of  the  Rival  Govern- 
ments...Conservatism  of  the  Southern  Revolution. ..Despotic  excesses  of  the 
Government  at  Washington.        .......         Page  83 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  "Grand  Army"  of  the  North. ..General  McDowell. ..The  Affair,  of  Bull 
Run. ..An  Artillery  Duel. ..The  Battle  of  Manassas. .."On  to  Richmond"... 
Scenery  of  the  Battle  Field. ..Crises  in  the  Battle. ..Devoted  Courage  of  the 
Confederates. ..The  Rout. ..How  the  News  was  Received  in  Washington... How 
it  was;  Received  in  the  South. ..General  Bee. ..Colonel  Bartow. ..The  Great 
Errour... General  Johnston's  Excuses  for  not  Advancing  on  Washington. ..Inci- 
dents of  the  Manassas  Battle.  .         .         .         .         .         Page  110 

CHAPTER  V. 

Results  of  the  Manassas  Battle  in  the  North. ..General  Scott. ..McClellan, 
"the  Young  Napoleon  "...Energy  of  the  Federal  Government...  The  Bank 
Loan.,. Events  in  the  West. ..The  Missouri  Campaign. ..Governor  Jackson's 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Proclamation. ..Sterling  Trice. ..The  Affair  of  Boonville... Organization  of  the 
Missouri,  Forces. ..The  Battle  of  Carthage... General  McCulloch...The  Bat- 
tle of  Oak  Hill. ..Death  of  General  Lyon. ..The  Confederate  Troops  leave 
Missouri. ..Operations  in  Northern  Missouri. ..General  Harris. ..General  Price's 
March  towards,  the  Missouri. ..The  Affair  at  Drywood  Creek. ..The  Battle  of 
Lexington. ..The  Jayhawkers...The  Victory  of  "  the  Five  Hundred  "...General 
Price's  Achievements. ..His  Retreat  and  the  Necessity  for  it. ..Operations  of 
General  Jeff.  Thompson  in  Sontli-Eastern  Missouri. ..The  Affair  of  Frederick- 
town. ..General  Price's  Passage  of  the  Osage  River...  Secessii  n  of  Missouri 
from  the  Federal  Union. ..Fremont  Superseded. ..The  Federal  Forces  in  Mis- 
souri Demoralized. ..General  Price  at  Springfield. ..Review- of  his  Campaign... 
Sketch  of  General  Price. ..Coldness  of  the  Government  towards  him. 

Page  142 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Campaign  in  Western  Virginia... General  Wise's  Command. ..Political 
Influences  in  Western  Virginia... The  Affair  of  Scary  Creek. ..General  Wise's 
Retreat  to  Lewisbnrg... General  Floyd's  Brigade. ..The  Affair  of  Cross  Lanes.  . 
Movements  on  the  Gauley...The  Affair  of  Carnifaz  Ferry. ..Disagreement 
between  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise. ..The  Tyrees...A  Patriotic  Woman. ..Move- 
ments in  Northwestern  Virginia. ..General  Lee. ..The  Enemy  Entrenched  on 
Cheat  Mountain. ..General  Rosencranz... Failure  of  General  Lee's  Plan  of  At- 
tack...He  Removes  to  the  Kanawha  Region. ..The  Opportunity  of  a  Decisive 
Battle  Lost. ..Retreat  of  Rosencrauz... General  H.  R.  Jackson's  Affair  on  the 
Greenbrier. ..The  Approach  of  Winter. ..The  Campaign  in  Western  Virginia 
Abandoned. ..The  Affair  on  the  Alleghany..  General  Floyd  at  Cotton  Hill... 
His  Masterly  Retreat. ..Review  of  the  Campaign  in  Western  Virginia. ..Some 
of  its  Incidents... Its  Failure  and  Unfortunate  Results. ..Other  Movements  in 
Virginia. ..The  Potomac  Line. ..The  Battle  of  Leeseurg... Overweening  Con- 
fidence of  the  South. .         .         Page  181 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Position  and  Policy  of  Kentucky  in  the  War... Kentucky  Chivalry... 
Reminiscences  of  the  "Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  "...Protection  of  the  North- 
west by  Kentucky... How  the  Debt  of  Gratitude  Has  Been  Repaid... A  Glance 
at  the  Hartford  Convention. ..The  Gubernatorial  Canvass  of  1859  in  Ken- 
tucky...Division  of  Parties. ..Other  Causes  for  the  Disloyalty  of  Kentucky... 
Thg,  "  Pro-Slavery  and  Union"  Resolutions. ..The  "State  Guard". ..General 
Buckner... The  Pretext  of  "Neutrality"  and  What  It  Meant.. .The  Kentucky 
Refugees... A  Reign  of  Terror. ..Judge  Monroe  in  Nashville. ..General  Breck- 
inridge...Occupation  of  Columbus  by  General  Polk. ..The  Neutrality  of  Ken- 
tucky First  Broken  by  the  North. ..General  Buckner  at  Bowling  Green. ..Camp 
"Dick  Robinson  "...The  ','Home  Guard  "...The  Occupation  of  Columbus  by 
the  Confederates  Explained. ..Cumberland  Gap. ..General  Zollicoffer's  Procla- 
mation...The  Affair  of  Barboursville..."The  Wid-Cat  Stampede  "...The  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  Border. ..The  Affair  of  Piketon... Suffering  of  Our  Troops 


X1T  CONTENTS.       - 

at  Pound  Gap. ..The  "Union  Party"  in  East  Tennessee.. .Keelan,  the  Hero  of" 
Strawberry  Plains. ..The  Situation  on  the  Waters  of  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee... 
The  Battle  of  Belmont. ..Weakness  of  Our  Forces  in  Kentucky. ..General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston. ..Inadequacy  of  His  Forces  at  Bowling  Green. ..Ne- 
glect and  Indifference  of  the  Confederate  Authorities... A  Crisis  Imminent... 
Admission  of  Kentucky  into  the  Southern  Confederacy.     .         i        Page  208 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Prospects  of  European  Interference. ..The  Selfish  Calculations  of  England... 
Effects  of  the  Blockade  on  the  South. ..Arrest  by  Capt.  Wilkes  of  the  South- 
ern Commissioners..  The  Indignation  of  EDgland... Surrender  of  the  Commis- 
sioners by  the  Lincoln  government... Mr.  Seward's  Letter... Review  of  Affairs 
at  the  Close  of  the  Year  1861. ..Apathy  and  Improvidence  of  the  Southern 
Government. ..Superiority  of  the  North  on  the  Water. ..The  Hatteras  Expe- 
dition...The  Port  Royal  Expedition. ..The  Southern  Privateers. ..Their  Fail- 
ure...Errours  of  Southern  Statesmanship..."  King  Cotton  "...Episodes  of  the 
War. ..The  Affair  of  Santa  Rosa  Island. ..The  Affair  of  Dranesville...  Political' 
Measures  of  the  South. ..A  Weak  and  Halting  Policy. ..The  Spirit  of  the  War 
in  the  North. ..Administration  of  the  Civil  Polity  of 'the  Southern  Army. ..The 
Quartermaster's  Department. ..The  Hygiene  of  the  Camps. ..Ravages  of  the 
Southern  Army  by  Disease. ..The  Devotion  of  the  Women  of  the  South. 

Page  234 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Prospects  of  the  Year  1862. ..The  Lines  of  the  Potomac. ..General  Jackson's 
Expedition  to  Winchester. ..The  Battle  of  Mill  Springs  in  Kentucky... 
General  Crittenden. ..Death  of  General  Zollicoffer...Sufferiugs  of  Crittenden's 
Army  on  the  Retreat. ..Comparative,  Unimportance  of  the  Disaster... The  Bat- 
tle of  Roanoke  Island. ..Importance  of  the  Island  to  the  South. ..Death  of 
Captain  Wise. ..Causes  of  the  Disaster'  to  the  South. ..Investigation  in  Con- 
gress...Censure  of'  the  Government. ..Interviews  of  General  Wise  with  Mr. 
Benjamin,  the  Secretary  of  War... Mr.  Benjamin  Censured  by  Congress,  but 
Retained  in  the  Cabinet. ..His  Promotion  by  President  Davis. ..Condition  of 
the  Popular  Sentiment. *  .         Page  250 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Situation  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky... The  Affair  at  Woodsonville... 
Death  of  Colonel  Terry. ..The  Strength  and  Material  of  the  Federal  Force  in 
Kentucky... Coudition  of  the  Defences  on  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland 
Rivers. ..The  Confederate  Congress  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. ..The  Fall 
of  Fort  Henry — Fort  Donelson  Threatened. ..The  Army  of  General  A.  S.  John- 
ston...His  Interview  with  General  Beauregard. ..Insensibility  of  the  Confede- 
rate Government  to  the  Exigency. ..General  Johnston's  Plan  of  Action... 
Battle  of  Fort  Donelson. ..Carnage  and  Scenery  of  the  Battle  Field. ..The 
Council  of  the  Southern  Commanders... Agreement  to  Surrender. ..Escape  of 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow. ..The  Fall  of  Fort  Donelson  Developes  the  Crisis 
in  the  West. ..The  Evaluation  of  Nashville. ..The  Fanic... Extraordinary 
Scenes. ..Experience  of  the  Enemy  in  Nashville. ..The  Adventures  of  Captain 
John  Morgan. ..General  Johnston  at  Murfreesboro'... Organization  of  a  New 
Line  of  Defence  South  of  Nashville. ..The  Defence  of  Memphis  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi...Island  No.  10. ..Serious  Character  of  the  Disaster  at^  Donelson... 
Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow  "Relieved  from  Command  "...General  Johnston's 
Testimony  in  Favour  of  These  Officers. ..President  Davis'  Punctilio... A  Sharp 
Contrast. ..Negotiation  for  the  Exchange  of  Prisoners... A  Lesson  of  Yankee 
Perfidy... Mr.  Benjamin's  Release  of  Yankee  Hostages.      .         .         Page  266 

CHAPTER  XL 

Organization  of  the  Permanent  Government  of  the  South. ..The  policy  of 
England... Declarations  of  Earl  Russell. ..Onset  of  the  Northern  Forces. ..Presi- 
dent Davis'  Message  to  Congress. ..The  Addition  of  New  States  and  Territo- 
ries <(i  the  Southern  Confederacy. ..Our  Indian  A/lies...The  Financial  Condi- 
tion, North  and  South. ...Deceitful  Prospects  of  Peace. ..Effect  of  the  Disasters 
to  the  South. ..Action  of  Congress. ..The  Conscript  Bill. ..Provisions  vs.  Cot- 
ton...Barbarous  Warfare  of  the  North. ..The  Anti-Slavery  Sentiment. ..How  it 
was  Unmasked  in  the  War.. .Emancipation  Measures  in  the  Federal  Congress... 
Spirit  of  the  Southern  People. ..Tlie  Administration  of  Jefferson  Davis... His 
Cabinet... The  Defensive  Policy. ..The  Naval  Engagement  in  Hampton 
Roads. ..Iron-Clad  Vessels. ..What  the  Southern  Government  Might  Have 
Done. ..The  Narrative  of  General  Price's  Campaign  Resumed... His  Retreat 
into  Arkansas. ..The  Battle  of  Elk  Horn. ..Criticism  of  the  Result. ..Death  of 
General  McCulloch...The  Battle  of  VALVEiu»E...The  Foothold  of  the  Con- 
federates iu  New  Mexico. ..ChaDge  of  the  Plan  of  Campaign  in  Virginia... 
Abandonment  of  the  Potomac  Liue  by  the  Confederates. ..The  Battle  of 
Keknstown... Colonel  Turner  Ashby... Appearance  of  McClellan's  Army  on 
the  Peninsula... Firmness  of  General  Magruder...The  New  Situation  of  the 
War  in  Virginia... Recurrence  of  Disasters  to  the  South  on  the  Water. ..The 
Capture  of  Newborn.. ..Fall  of  Fort  Pulaski  and  Fort  Macon. ..Common  Sense 
vs.  "  West  Point."     .• :  Page  292 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Campaign  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. ..Bombardment  of  Island  No.%10... 
The  Scenes,  Incidents  a,nd  Results... Fruits  of  the  Northern  Victory... Move- 
ments of  the  Federals  on  the  Tennessee  River. ..The  Battle  of  Siiiloh...A 
"  Lost  Opportunity  "...Death  of  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston. ..Comparison 
Between  the  Battles  of  Shiloh  and  Manassas. ..The  Federal  Expeditions  into 
North  Alabama. ..Withdrawal  of  the  Confederate  Forces  from  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  District. ..General  Price  and  His  Command. ..The  Fall  of  New 
Orleans. ..The  Flag  Imbroglio. ..Major-General  Butler. ..Causes  of  the  Disas- 
ter...Its  Results  and  Consequences. ..The  Fate  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

Page  328 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. . 

CONCLUSION. 

Prospects.of  the  "War. ..The  Extremity  of  the  South. ..Lights  and  Shadows  of 
the  Campaign  in  Virginia. ...Jackson's  Campaign  in  the  Valley. ..Tlie  Policy  o.f 
Concentration. ..Sketch  of  the  Battles  Around  Richmond. ..Effect  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  Defeat  Upon  the  North. ..President  Davis'  Congratulatory  Order... 
The  War  as  a  Great  Money  Job. ..JVole:  Gen.  Washington's  Opinion  of  the 
Northern  People... Statement  of  the  Northern  Finances. ..Yankee  Venom. ..Gen. 
Pope's  Military  Orders. ..Summary  of  the  War  Legislation  of  the  Northern 
Congress. ..Retaliation  on  the  Part  of  the  Confederacy. ..The  Cartel. ..Prospects 
of  European  Interference. ..English  Statesmanship. ..Progress  of  the  War  in 
the  West. ..The  Defence  of  Vieksburg... Morgan's  Great  Raid. ..The  Tennessee- 
Virginia  Frontier... A  Glance  at  the  Confederate  Congress. ..Mr.  Foote  and  the 
Cabinet. ..The  Campaign  in 'Virginia  Again. ..Rapid  Movements  and  Famous 
March  of  the  Southern  Troops...  The  Signal  Victory  of  the  Thirtieth  of  August 
on  the  Plains  of  Manassas Reflections  on  the  War. ..Some  of  its  Charac- 
teristics...A  Review  of  its  Military  Results. ..Three  Moral  Benefits  of  the 
War. ..Prospects  and  Promises  of  the  Future.  .         .         .        Page  361 

Appendx,  .        .   •     .         .         .        .'  .         .         .        Page  405 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Delusive  Ideas  of  the  Union...  Administration  of  John  Adams. ..The  "Strict 
Constructionists". ..The  "State  Rights"  Men  in  the  North. ..The  Missouri 
Restriction. ..General  Jackson  and  the  Nullification  Question. ..The  Compro- 
mise Measures  of  1850... History  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Party. ..The  "Pinckney 
Resolutions  "...The  Twenty-first  Rule. ..The  Abolitionists  in  the  Presidential 
Canvass  of  18">2...The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill. ..The  Rise  and  Growth  of  the 
Republican  Party. ..The  Election  of  President  Buchanan. ..The  Kansas  Con- 
troversy..." Lecompton  '  and  "Anti-Lecompton  "...Results  of  the  Kansas 
Controversy. ..The  John  Brown  Raid..."  Helper's  Book  "...Demoralization  of 
the  Northern  Democratic  Party. ..The  Faction  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas. ..The 
Alabama  Resolutions. ..The  Political  Platforms  of  1^60... Election  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States... Analysis  of  the  Vote. ..Political 
Coudition  of  the  North. ..Secession  of  South  Carolina. ..Events  in  Charleston 
Harbour. ..Disagreements  iu  Mr.  Buchanan's  Cabinet. ..The  Secession  Move- 
ment in  Progress. ..Peace  Measures  in  Congress. ..The  Crittenden  Resolu- 
tions...The  Peace  Congress. ..Policy  of  the  Border  Slave  States. ..Organization 
of  the  Confederate  States  Government. ..President  Buchanan. ..Incoming  of 
the  Administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln. ..Strength  of  the  Revolution. 

The  American  people  of  the  present  generation  were  born 
in  the  belief  that  the  Union  of  the  States  was  destined  to  be 
perpetual.  A  few  minds  rose  superiour  to  this  natal  delusion; 
the  early  history  of  the  Union  itself  was  not  without  premoni- 
tions of  decay  .and  weakness ;  and  yet  it  may  be  said  that  the 
belief  in  its  permanency  was,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
generation,  a  popular  and  obstinate  delusion,  that  embraced 
the  masses  of  the  country. 

The  foundations  of  this  delusion  had  been  deeply  laid  in  the 
early  history  of  the  country,  ar^d  had  been  sustained  by  a, 
2 


18  THE.  FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

false,  but  ingenious  prejudice.  It  was  busily  represented, 
especially  by  demagogues  in  the  North,  that  the  Union  was 
the  fruit  of  the  Revolution  of  1776,  and  had  been  purchased 
by  the  blood  of  our  forefathers.  No  fallacy  could  have  been 
more  erroneous  in  fact,  more  insidious  in  its  display,  or  more 
effective  in  addressing  the  passions  of  the  multitude.  The 
Revolution  achieved  our  national  independence,  and  the  Union 
had  no  connection  with  it  other  than  consequence  in  point  of 
time.  It  was  founded,  as  any  other  civil  institution,  in  the 
exigencies  and  necessities  of  a  certain  condition  of  society, 
and  had  no  other  claim  to.  popular  reverence  and  attachment 
than  what  might  be  found  in  its  own  virtues. 

But  it  was  not  only  the  captivating  fallacy  that  the  Union 
was  hallowed  by  the  blood  of  a  revolution,  and  this  false  in- 
spiration of  reverence  for  it,  that  gave  the  popular- idea  of  its 
power  and  permanency.  Its  political  character  was  misunder- 
stood by  a  large  portion  of  the  American  people.  The  idea 
predominated  in  the  North  and  found  toleration  in  the  South, 
that  the  Revolution  of  '76,  instead  of  securing  the  independ- 
ence of  thirteen  States,  had  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a 
grand  consolidated  government  to  be  under  the  absolute  con- 
troul  of  a  numerical  majority.  The  doctrine  was  successfully 
inculcated;  it  had  some  plausibility  and  brought  to  its  support 
an  array  of  revolutionary  names;  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  terms  of  the  Constitution — the  bond 
of  the  Union — which  defined  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the 
limited  powers  of  the  General  Government. 

The  first  President  from  the  North,  John  Adams,  asserted 
and  essayed  to  put  in  practice  the  supremacy  of  the  "Na- 
tional" power  over  the  States  and  the  citizens  thereof.  He 
was  sustained  in  his  attempted  usurpations  by  all  the  New 
England  States  and  by  a  powerful  public  sentiment  in  each  of 
the  Middle  States.  The  "strict  constructionists"  of  the  Con- 
stitution were  not  slow  in  raising  the  standard  of  opposition 
against  a  pernicious  errour.  With  numbers  and  the  most  con- 
spicuous talents  in  the  country  they  soon  effected  the  organ- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  19 

ization  of  a  party;  and,  under  the  leadership  of  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  they  rallied  their  forces  and  succeeded  in  overthrow- 
ing the  Yankee  Administration,  but  only  after  a  tremendous 
struggle. 

From  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1801,  the  Fede- 
ral Government  continued  uninterruptedly  in  Southern  hands 
for  the  6pace  of  twenty-four  years.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
active  politicians  of  the  North  pretended  to  give  in  their  adhe- 
sion, to  the  State  Rights  school  of  politics;  but,  like  all  the 
alliances  of  Northern  politicians  with  the  South — selfish,  cun- 
ning, extravagant  of  professions,  carefully  avoiding  trials  of 
.its  fidelity,  unhealthy,  founded  on  a  sentiment  of  treachery  to 
its  own  section,  and  educated  in  perfidy — it  was  a  deceitful 
union  and  could  not  withstand  the  test  of  a  practical  question. 

While  acting  with  the  South  on  empty  or  accidental  issues, 
the  "State  Rights"  men  of  the  North  were,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  the  faithful  allies  of  the  open  and  avowed  consolida- 
tionists  on  the  question  that  most  seriously  divided  the  coun- 
try— that  of  negro  slavery.  Their  course  on  the  admission  of 
Missouri  afforded  early  and  conclusive  evidence  of  the  secret 
disposition  of  all  parties  in  the  North.  With  very  few  excep- 
tions, in  and  out  of  Congress,  the  North  united  in  the  original 
demand  of  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  new  State  as  the 
indispensable  condition  of  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 
Union;  although  the  people  of  Missouri,  previous  to  their 
application  to  Congress,  had  decided  to  admit  within  its  juris- 
diction the  domestic  institution  of  the  South.  The  result  of 
the  contest  was  equally  unfavourable  to  the  rights  of  the  South 
and  to  the  doctrine  of  the  constitutional  equality  of  the  States 
in  the  Union.  The  only  approach  that  the  North  was  willing 
to  make  to  this  fundamental  doctrine  was  to  support  a  "com- 
promise," by  which  slavery  was  to  be  tolerated  in  one  part  of 
the  Missouri  Territory  and  to  be  forever  excluded  from  the 
remaining  portion.  The  issue  of  the  controversy  was  not  only 
important  to  the  slave  interest,  but  afforded  a  new  develop- 
ment of  the  Northern  political  ideas  of  consolidation  and  the 


20  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

absolutism  of  numerical  majorities.  The  North  had  acted  on 
the  Missouri  matter  as  though  the  South  had  no  rights  guaran- 
teed in  the  bond  of  the  Union,  and  as  though  the  question  at 
issue  was  one  merely  of  numerical  strength,  where  the  defeated 
party  had  no  alternative  but  submission.  "The  majority  must 
govern"  was  the  decantatum  on  the  lips  of  every  demagogue, 
and  passed  into  a  favourite  phrase  of  Northern  politics. 

The  results  of  the  acquiescence  of  the  South  in  the.  wrong 
of  the  Missouri  Restriction  could  not  fail  to  strengthen  the 
idea  in  the  North  of  the  security  of  the  Union  and  to  em- 
bolden its  people  to  the  essay  of  new  aggressions.  Many  of 
their  politicians  did  not  hesitate  to  believe  that  the  South  was . 
prepared  to  pledge  herself  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union  upon 
Northern  terms.  The  fact  was,  that  she  had  made  a  clear 
concession  of  principle  for  the  sake  of  the  Union;  and  the 
inference  was  plain  and  logical,  that  her  devotion  to  it  ex- 
ceeded almost  every  other  political  trust,  and  that  she  would  • 
be  likely  to  prefer1  any  sacrifice  rather  than  the  irreverent  one 
of  the  Union  of  the  States. 

The  events  of  succeeding  years  confirmed  the  Northern 
opinion  that  the  Union  was  to  be.  perpetuated'  as  a  consoli- 
dated government.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  consolida- 
tionists  derived  much  comfort  from  the  course  of  President 
Jackson,  in  the  controversy  between  the  General  Government 
and  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  that  ensued  during  the 
second  term  of  his  administration.  But.  they  were  hasty  and 
unfair  in  the  interpretation  of  the  speeches  of  a  choleric  and 
immoderate  politician.  They  seized  upon  a  sentiment  offered 
by  the  President  at  the  Jeffersoa  anniversary  dinner,  in  the 
second*  year  of  his  first  term — "  The  Federal  Union — it  must 
be  preserved'1 — to  represent  him  as  a  " c'oercionist "  in  prin- 
ciple; and,  indeed,  they  found  reason  to  contend  that  their 
construction  of  these  words  was  fully ,  sustained  in  General  , 
Jackson's  famous  proclamation  and  official  course  against 
Nullification. 

General  Jackson  subsequently  explained  away,  in  a  great 


THE   FIRST  YEAR    OF  THE  WAR.  21 

measure,  the  objectionable  doctrines  of  his  proclamation  ;  and 
his  emphatic  declaration  that  the  Union  could  not  be  preserved 
by  force  was  one  of  the  practical  testimonies  of  his  wisdom  that 
he  left  to  posterity.  But  the  immediate  moral  and  political 
effects  of  his  policy  in  relation  to  South  Carolina  were,  upon 
the  whole,  decidedly  unfavourable  to  the  State  Rights  cause. 
His  approval  of  the*  Force  Bill*  gave  to  the  consolidationists 
the  benefit  of  his  great  name  and  influence  at  a  most  import- 
ant juncture.'  The  names  of  "Jackson  and  the  Union"  be- 
came inseparable  in  the  public  estimation ;  and  the  idea  was 
strongly  and  vividly  impressed  upon  the  public  mind,  that  the 
great  Democrat  was  "a  Union  man"  at  all  hazards  and  to  the 
last  extremity. 

The  result  of  the  contest  between  South  Carolina  and  the 
General  Government  is  well  known.  The  Palmetto  State 
came  out  of  it  with  an  enviable  reputation  for  spirit  and 
chivalry;  but  the  settlement  of  the  question  contributed  to 
the  previous  popular  impressions  of  the  power  and  perma- 
nency of  the  Union.  The  idea  of  the  Union  became  what  it 
continued  to  be  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  thereafter — extrav- 
agant and  sentimental.  The  people  were  unwilling  to  stop  to 
analyze  an  idea  after  it  had  once  become  the  subject  of  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  the  mere  name  of  the  "  Union,"  illustrating,  as  it 
did,  the  power  of  words  over  the  passions  of  the  multitude, 
remained  for  years  a  signal  of  the  country's  glor.y  and  of 
course  the  motto  of  ambitious  politicians  and  the  favourite 
theme  of  demagogues.  This  unnatural  tumour  was  not  peculiar 
to  any  party  or  any  portion  of  the  country.  It  was  deeply 
planted  in  the  Northern  mind,  but  prevailed  also,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  in  the  South.  Many  of  the  Southern  politi- 
cians came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  could  best  succeed  in 
their  designs  as  advocates  and  eulogists  of  what  was  para- 
phrased as  "the  glorious  Union;"  and  for  a  long  time  the 
popular  voice  of  the  South  seemed  to  justify  their  conclusion. 

The  settlement  of  the  sectional  difficulties  of  1850,  which 
grew  out  of  the  admission  of  the  territory  acquired  by  the 


22  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

Mexican  War,  was  but  a  repetition  of  the  "■  Compromise "  of 
1*820,  so  far  as  it  implied  a  surrender  of  the  rights  of  the 
South  and  of  the  principle  of  constitutional  equality.  The 
appeals  urged  in  behalf  of  the  Union  had  the  usual  effect  of 
reconciling  the  South  to  the  sacrifice  required  of  her,  and 
embarrassed  anything  like  resistance  on  the  part  of  her  re- 
presentatives in  Congress  to 'the  "compromise  measures"  of 
1850.  South  Carolina  was  the  only' one  of  the  Southern 
States  ready  at  this  time  to  take  the  bold  and  adventurous 
initiative  of  Southern  independence.  In  justice,  however,  to 
the  other  States  of  the  South,  it  must  be  stated,  that  in  agree- 
ing to  wha*t  was  called;  in  severe  irony  or  in  wretched  igno- 
rance, the  "Compromise"  of  18.50,  they  declared  that  it  was 
the  last  concession  they  would  make  to  the  North;  that  thly 
took  it  as  a  "finality,"  and  that  they  would  resist  any  further 
aggressions  on  their  rights,  even  to  the  extremity  of  the  rup- 
ture of  the  Union. 

This  declaration  of  spirit  was  derided  by  the  North.  The 
anti-slavery  sentiment  became  bolder  with  success.  Stimu- 
lated by  secret  jealousies  and  qualified  for  success  by  the  low 
and  narrow  cunning  of  fanaticism,  it  had  grown  up  by  indirec- 
tion, and  aspired  to  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  peculiar 
institution  that  had  distinguished  the  people  of  the  South  from 
those  of  the  North,  by  a  larger  happiness,  greater  ease  of  life, 
and  a  superiour.tone  of  character.  Hypocrisy,  secretiveness, 
a  rapid  and  unhealthy  growth,  and  at  last  the  unmasked  spirit 
of  defiance,  were  the  incidents  of  the  history  of  the  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  in  the  North,  from  the  beginning  of  its 
organization  to  the  last  and  fatal  strain  of  its  insolence  and 
power. 

Until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  the  Northern  majority 
disavowed  all  purpose  of  abolishing  or  interfering  in  any 
way  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  any  State,  Territory 
or  District  where  it  existed.  On  the  contrary,  they  declared 
their  readiness  to  give  their  "Southern  brethren"  the  most 
satisfactory  guaranties  for  the  security  of  their  slave  property. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  23* 

They  cloaked  their  designs  under  the  disguise  of  the  Right  of 
Petition  and  other  concealments  equally  demagogical.  From 
the  organization  of  the  government,  petitions  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  signed  in  every  instance  by  but  a  few  persons,  and 
most  of  them  women,  had,  at  intervals,  been  sent  into  Con- 
gress; but  they  were  of  such  apparent  insignificance  that  they 
failed  to  excite  any  serious  apprehensions  on  the  part  of  the 
South.  In  the  year  1836,  thesepetitions  were  multiplied,  and 
many  were  sent  into  both  Houses  of  Congress  from  all  parts 
of  the  North.  An  excitement  began.  On  motion  of  Mr. 
H.  L.  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  a  resolution  was  adopted 
by  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  refer  to  a  select  commit- 
tee all  anti-slavery  memorials  then  before  that  body,  or  that 
might  thereafter  be  sent  in,  with  instructions  to  report  against 
the  prayers  of  the  petitioners  and  the  reasons  for  such 
conclusion. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  183G,  the  committee  made  a  unanimous 
report,  through  Mr.  Pinckney,  its  chairman,  concluding  with  a 
series  of  resolutions,  the  last  of  which  was  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  all  petitions  memorials,  resolutions,  propositions  or  papers 
relating,  in  any  way,  or  to  any  extent  whatever,  to  the  subject  of  slavery,  or 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  shall,  without  being  either  printed  or  referred,  be  laid 
upon  the  table,  and  that  no  further  action  whatever  shall  be  had  thereon." 

The  resolutions  were  carried  by  a  vote  of  117  yeas  to  G8 
nays.  A  majority  of  the  Northern  members  voted  against  the 
resolution,  although  there  was  then  scarcely  an  avowed  Aboli- 
tionist among  them.  They  professed  to  be  in  favour  of  pro- 
tecting the  slaveholder  in  his  right  of  property,  and  yet 
declared  by  their  votes,  as  well  as  by  their  speeches,  that  the 
right  of  petition  to  rob  him  of  his  property  was  too  sacred  to 
be  called  in  question. 

The  passage  of  the  "Pinckney  resolutions,"  as  they  were 
called,  did  not  silence  the  anti-slavery  agitation  in  the  House. 
In  the  month  of  D.ecember,  18S7,  a  remarkable  scene  was 
enacted  in  that  body,  during  the  proceedings  on  a  motion  of 


'24  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

Mr.  Slade,  of  Vermont,  to  refer  two  memorials  praying  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  to  a  select 
committee.  Mr.  Slade,  in  urging  his  motion,  was  violent  in 
his  denunciations  of  slavery,  and  he  spoke  for  a  considerable 
time  amid  constant  interruptions  and  calls  to  order.  At  length, 
Mr.  Rhett,  of  South  Carolina,  called  upon  the  entire  delega- 
tion «from  all  the  slaveholding  States  to  retire  from  the  hall, 
and  to  meet  in  the  room  of  the  Committee  on  the  District  of 
Columbia.  A  large  number  of  them  did  meet  for  consultation 
in  the  room  designated.  The  meeting,  however,  resulted  in 
nothing  but  an  agreement  upon  the  following  resolution  to  be 
presented  to  the  House : 

"  Resolved,  That  all  petitions,  memorials  and  papers  touching  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  or  the  buying,  selling  or  transferring  of  slaves  in  any  State,  dis- 
trict or  territory  of  the  United  States,  be  laid  on  the  table  without  being 
debated,  printed,  read  or  referred,  and  that  no  further  action  whatever  shall 
be  had  thereon." 

This  resolution  was  presented  to  the  House  by  Mr.  Patton, 
of  Virginia,  and  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  122  to  74. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1840,  the  House  of  Representa-  . 
tives,   on   motion  of    Mr.   W.   Cost    Johnson,   of    Maryland, 
adopted  what  was  known  as  the  "Twenty-first  Rule,"  which 
prohibited  the  reception  of  all  Abolition  petitions,  memorials 
and  resolutions. 

The  Twenty-first  Rule  was  rescinded  in  December,  1844,  on 
motion  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  by  a  vote  of  108  to  80.  Sev- 
eral efforts  were  afterwards  made  to  restore  it,  but  without 
success.  The  Northern  people  would  not  relinquish  what  they 
termed  a  "sacred  right" — that  of  petitioning  the  govern- 
ment, through  their  representatives  in  Congress,  to  deprive 
the  Southern  people  of  their  property. 

During  the  agitation  in  Congress  upon  the  right  of  petition 
there  was,  as  before  stated,  but  very  few  open  and  avowed 
Abolitionists  in  either  House,  and  the  declaration  was  repeat- 
qjlly  made  by  members  that  the  party  was  contemptibly  small 
in  every  free  State  in  the  Union.     Mr.  Pierce,  of  New-  Hainp- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  25 

shire,  (afterwards  President  of  the  .United  States,)  declared, 
in  1837,  in  his  place  in  Congress,  that  there  were  not  two  hun- 
dred Abolitionists  in  his  State ;  and  Mr.  Webster,  about  the 
same  time,  represented  their  numbers  in  Massachusetts  as  quite 
insignificant.  Mr.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  with  charac- 
teristic sagacity  replied  to  these  representations,  and  predicted 
that  "Mr.  Webster  and  all  Northern  statesmen  would,  in  a  few 
years,  yield  to  the  storm  of  Abolition  fanaticism  and  be  over- 
whelmed by  it."  The  prophecy  was  not  more  remarkable  than 
the  searching  analysis  of  Northern  "conservatism"  with 
which  the  great  South  Carolinian  accompanied  his  prediction. 
He  argued  that  such  a  consequence  was  inevitable  from  the 
way  in  which  the  professed  "conservatives"  of  the  North  had 
invited  the  aggressions  of  the  Abolitionists,  by  courteously 
granting  them  the  right  of  petition,  which  was  indeed  all  they 
Asked ;  that  the  fanaticism  of  the  North  was  a  disease  which 
required  a  remedy,  and  that  palliatives  would  not  answer,  as 
Mr.  Webster  and  men  like  him  would  find-to 'their  cost. 

In  the  Thirtieth  Congress,  that  assembled  in  December, 
1849,  the  professed  Abolitionists  numbered  about  a  dozen  mem- 
bers. They  held  the  balance  of  power  between  the  Democratic 
and  Whig  parties  in  the  House,  and  delayed  its  organization. 
for  about  a  month.  Both  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties 
then  claimed  to  be  conservative,  and,  of  course,  the  opponents 
of  the  anti-slavery  agitation. 

In  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1852,  both  Pierce  and  Scott 
were  brought  out  by  professed  national  parties,  and  were 
supported  in  each  section  of  the  Union.  John  P.  Hale,  who 
ran  upon  what  was  called  the  "straight-out"  Abolition  ticket, 
did  not  receive  the  vote  of  a  single  State,  and  but  175,296  of 
the  popular  vote  of  the  Union.  The  triumphant  election  of 
Pferce,  who  was  a  favourite  of  the  State  Rights  Democracy  of 
the  South,  was  hailed  by  the  sanguine  friends  of  the  Union  as  a 
fair  indication  of  the  purpose  of  the  North  to  abide,  in  good 
faith,  by  the  Compromise  of  1850.  But  in  this  they  were 
deceived,  as  the  sequel  demonstrated. 


26  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  under  Mr. 
Pierce's  administration,  the  bill  introduced  to  establish  a  terri- 
torial government  for  Nebraska,  led  to  an  agitation  in  Congress 
and  the  country,  the  consequences  of  which  extended  to  the 
last  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Union.  The  Committee  on 
Territories  in  the  Senate,  of  which  Mr.  Douglas,  of  Illinois, 
was  chairman,  reported  the  bill,  which  made  two  territories — 
Nebraska  and  Kansas — instead  of  one,  and  which  declared 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  act  was  suspended  by  the  Com- 
promise measures  of  1850,  and  had  thus  become  inoperative. 
The  phraseology  of  the  clause  repealing  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Douglas,  and  was  not  supposed  at 
the  time  to  be  liable  to  misconstruction.  It  held,  that  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  Act,  "being  inconsistent  with  the  principles 
of  non-intervention  by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and 
Territories,  as  recognized  by  the  legislation  of  1850,  com* 
monly  called  the  Compromise  Measures,  is  hereby  declared 
inoperative  and  void ;  it  being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
this  act  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State, 
nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof 
perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions 
in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States."  The  clause  here  quoted,  as  drawn  up  by  Mr. 
Douglas,  was  incorporated  into  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  in 
the'  Senate  on  the  15th  of  February,  1854.  The  bill  passed 
the  House  at  the  same  session. 

The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  caused  the  deepest 
excitement  throughout  the  North.  The'  Abolitionists  were 
wild  with  fury.  Douglas  was  hung  in  effigy  at  diiferent  places, 
and  was  threatened  with  personal  violence  in  case  of  his  per- 
sistence in  his  non-intervention  policy.  The  •  rapid  develop- 
ment of  a  fanatical  feeling  in  every  free  State  startled  mafty 
who  had  but  recently  indulged  dreams  of  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Constitutional  Union.  Abolitionism,  in  the  guise  of  u  Repub- 
licanism," swept  almost  everything  before  it  in  the  North  and 
Northwest  in  the  elections  of  1854  and  1855.     But  few  pro- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  27 

fessed  conservatives  were  returned  to  the  Thirty-first  Congress; 
not  enough  to  prevent  the  election  of  Nathaniel  Banks,  an 
objectionable  Abolitionist  of  the  Massachusetts  school,  to  the 
Speakership  of  the  House. 

The  South  had  supported  the  repeal  of  the  Miss'ouri  Com- 
promise because  it  restored  her  to  her  rightful  position  of 
equality  in  the  Union.  It  is  true,  that  her  representatives  in 
Congress  were  well  aware  .that,  under  the  operations  of  the 
new  act,  their  constituents  could  expect  to  obtain  but  little 
if  any  new  accessions  of  slave  territory,  while  the  North 
would  necessarily,  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  secure  a 
number  of  new  States  in  the  Northwest,  then  the  present 
direction  of  our  new  settlements.  But  viewed  as  an  act  of 
proscription  against  he§r,  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  justly 
offensive  to  the  South ;  and  its  abrogation,  in  this  respect, 
strongly  recommended  itself  to  her  support. 

The  ruling  party  of  the  North,  calling  themselves  "Repub- 
licans," had  violently  opposed  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  1820, 
in  the  same  sentiment  with  which  it  was  fiercely  encountered 
by  the  Abolitionists.  The  two  parties  were  practically  identi- 
cal;  both  shared  the  same  sentiment  of  hostility  to  slavery; 
and  they  differed  only. as  to  the  degree  of  indirection  by  which 
their  purposes  might  best  be  accomplished. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Buchanan  to  the  Presidency  in  1856 
raised,  for  a  time,  the  spirits  of  many  of  the  true  friends  of 
the  Constitutional  Union.  But  there  was  very  little  in  an 
analysis  of  the  vote  to  giye  hope  or  encouragement  to  the 
patriot.  Fremont,  who  ran  as  the  anti-slavery  candidate, 
received  1,341,812  votes  of  the  people,  and  it  is  believed 
•  would  have  been  elected  by  the  electoral  college,  if  the  anti- 
Buchanan  party  in  Pennsylvania  had  united  upon  him. 

The  connection  of  events  which  we  have  sought  to  trace, 
brings  us  to  the  celebrated  Kansas  controversy,  and  at  once  to 
the  threshold  of  the  dissensions  which  demoralized  the  only 
conservative  party  in  the  country,  and  in  less*  than  four  years 
culminated  in  the  rupture  of  the  Federal  Union.     A  severe 


28  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

summary  of  the  facts  of  this  controversy  introduces  us  to  the 
contest  of  1860,  in  which  the  Republican  party,  swollen  with 
its  triumphs  in  Kansas,  and  infecting  the  Democratic  leaders 
in  the  North  with  the  disposition  to  pander  to  the  lusts  of  a 
growing  power,  obtained  the  controul  of  the  government,  and 
seized  the  sceptre  of  absolute  authority. 

When  Mr.  Buchanan  came  into  office,  in  March, '1857,  he 
flattered  himself  with  the  hope  that  his  administration  would 
settle  the  disputes  that  had  so  long  agitated  and  distracted  the 
country;  trusting  that  such  a  result  might  be  accomplished  by 
the  speedy  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union,  upon  the  prin- 
ciples which  had  governed  in  his  election.  Such,  at  least,  were 
his  declarations  to  his  friends.  But. before  the  meeting  of 
Congress,  in  December,  he  had  abundant  evidence  that  his 
favourite  measure  would  be  opposed  by  a  number  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  who  had  actively  supported  him  in  his 
canvass ;  among  them  the  distinguished  author  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  Mr.  Douglas. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1855,  the  Legislature  of  the  Territory 
of  Kansas  had  passed  an  act  to  take  the  sense  of  the  people 
on  the  subject  of  forming  a  State  government,  preparatory  to 
admission  into  the  Union.  The  election  took  place,  and  a 
large  majority  of  the  people  voted  in  favour  of  holding  a  con- 
vention for  the  purpose  of  adopting  a  Constitution.  In  pursu- 
ance of  this  vote,  the  Territorial  Legislature,  on  the  19th  of 
February,  1857,  passed  a  law  to  take  a  census  of  the  people, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  registry  of  the  voters,  and  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  Convention.  Mr.  Geary,  then  Governor  of 
Kansas,  vetoed  the  bill  for  calling  the  Convention,  for  the  rea- 
son that  it  did  not  require  the  Constitution,  when  framed,  to 
be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  for  adoption  or  rejection. 
The  bill,  however,  was  reconsidered  in  each  House,  and  passed 
by  a  two  thirds'  vote,  and  thus  became  a  binding  law  in  the 
Territory,  despite  the  veto  of  the  Governor. 

On  the  20th  'of  May,  1857,  Mr.  F.  P.  Stanton,  Secretary 
and  acting  Goverpor  of  Kansas  Territory,  published  his  pro- 


THE  FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.         .  29 

clamation,  commanding  the  proper  officers  to  hold  an  election 
on  the  third  Monday  of  June,  1857,  as  directed  by  the  act  re- 
ferred to.  • 

The  election  was  held  on  the  day  appointed,  and  the  Con- 
vention assembled,  according  to  law,  on  the  first  Monday  of 
September,  1857.  They  proceeded  to  form  a  Constitution, 
and,  having  finished  their  work,  adjourned  on  the  7th  Novem- 
ber. The  entire  Constitution  was  not  submitted  to  the  popular 
vote;  but  the  Convention  took  care  to  submit  to  the  vote  of 
the  people,  for  ratification  or  rejection,  the  clause  respecting 
slavery.  The  official  vote  resulted:  For  the  Constitution,  with 
Slavery,  6.22G  ;  for  the  Constitution,  without  Slavery,  509. 

The  Abolitionists,  or  "Free  State"  men,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, did  not  generally  vote  in  this  or  any  other  election  held 
under  the  regular  government  of  the  Territory.  They  defied  the 
authority  of  this  government  and  that  of  the  United  States, 
and  acted  under  the  direction  of  Emigrant  Aid  Societies,  or- 
ganized by  the  fanatical  Abolitionists  of  the  North,  to  colonize 
the  new  territory  with  voters.  The  proceedings  of  this  evil 
and  bastard  population  occasioned  the  greatest  exciterdent,  and 
speedily  inaugurated  an  era  of  disorder  and  rebellion  in  this 
distant  portion  of  the  Federal  territory. 

The  Free  State  party  assembled  at  Topeka,  in  September, 
1857,  and  adopted  what  they  called  a  "  Constitution"  for  Kan- 
sas. This  so-called  Constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people, 
and  was  ratified,  of  course,  by  a  large  majority  of  those  who 
voted;  scarcely  any  but  Abolitionists  going  to  the  polls.  Un- 
der their  Topeka  Constitution,  the  Free  State  party  elected  a 
Governor  and  Legislature,  and  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
petitioning  Congress  for  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the 
Union.  The  memorial  of  the  Topeka  insurgents  was  presented 
to  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress.  It  met  with  a  favourable  res- 
ponse in  the  House  of  Representative*,  a  majority  of  that  body 
being  anti-slavery  men  of  the  New  England  school ;  but 
found  but  a  poor  reception  in  the  Senate,  where  there  was  still 
a  majority  of  conservative  and  law-abiding  men. 


30  #        THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1858,  Mr.  Buchanan,  at  the  request 
of  the  President  of  the  Lecoinpton  Convention,  transmitted  to 
Congress  an  authentic  copy  of  the  Constitution  frarfled  by  that 
body,  with  a  view  to  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  . 
Union.  The  message  of  the  President  took  strong  and 
urgent  position  for  the  admission  of  Kansas  under  this  Con- 
stitution ;  he  defended  the  action  of  the  Convention  in  not 
submitting  the  entire  result  of  their  labours  to  a  vote  of  the 
people;  he  explained  that,  when  he  instructed  Governor  Wal- 
ker, in  general  terms,  in  favour  of  submitting  the  Constitution 
to  the  people,  he  had  no  other  object  in  view  beyond  the  afl- 
absorbing  topic  of  slavery;  he  considered  that,  und'er  the 
organic  act,  the  Convention  was  bound  to  submit  the  all-impor- 
tant question  of  slavery  to  the  people ;  he  added,  that  it  was 
never  his  Opinion,  however,  that,  independently  of  this  act,  the 
Convention  would  be  bound  to  submit  any  portion  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  a  popular  vote,  in  order  to  give  it  validity ;  and  he 
argued  the  fallacy  and  unreasonableness  of  such  an  opinion, 
by  insisting  that  it  was  in  opposition  to  the  principle  which 
pervaded  our  institutions,  and  which  was  every  day  carried  into 
practice,  to  the  effect  that  the  people  had  the  right  to  delegate 
to  representatives,  chosen  by  themselves,  sovereign  power  to 
frame  Constitutions,  enact  laws,  and  perform  many  other  im- 
portant acts,  without  the  necessity  of  testing  the  validity  of 
their  work  by  popular  approbation.  The  Topeka  Constitu- 
tion" Mr.  Buchanan  denounced  "as  the  work  of  treason  and 
insurrection. 

It  is  certain  that  Mr.  Buchanan  would  have  succeeded  in 
effecting  the  admission  of  Kansas  under  the  Lecompton  Con- 
stitution, if  he  could  have  secured  to  the  measure  the  support 
of  all  the  Northern  Democrats  who  had  contributed  to  his  elec- 
tion. These,  however,  had  become  disaffected;  they  opposed 
and  assailed  the  measure  of  the  Administration,  acting  under 
the  lead  of  Mr.  Douglas;  and  the  long-continued  and  bitter, 
discussion  which  ensued,  perfectly  accomplished  the  division  of 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  '    31 

the  Democratic  party  into  two  great  factions,  mustered  under 
the  names  of  "Lecompton"  and  "Anti-Lecompton." 

The  latter  faction  founded  their  opposition  to  the  Adminis- 
tration on  the  grounds,  that  the  Lecompton  Constitution  was 
not  the  act  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  did  not  express  their 
will;  that  only  half  of  the  counties  of  the  Territory  were 
represented  in  the  Convention  that  framed  it,  the  other  half 
being  disfranchised,  for  no  fault  of  their  own,  but  from  failure 
of  the  officers  to  register  the  voters,  and  entitle  them  to  vote 
for  delegates;  and  that  the  mode  of  submitting  the  Constitu- 
tion to  the  people  for  "ratification  or  rejection"  was  unfair, 
embarrassing  and  proscriptive. 

In  reply,  the  friends  of  the  Administration  urged  that  twen- 
ty-one out  of  the  thirty-four  organized  counties  of  Kansas 
were  embraced  in  the  apportionment  of  representation  ;  that, 
of  the  thirteen  counties  not  embraced,  nine  had  but  a  small 
population,  as  shown  by  the  fact  that,  in  a  succeeding  election, 
to  which  the  Anti-Lecomptonites  had  referred  as  an  indication 
of  public  sentiment  in  Kansas,  they  polled  but  ninety  votes  in 
the  aggregate;  that,  in  the  remaining  four  counties,  the  failure 
to  register  the  voters,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  their  repre- 
sentation, were  due  to  the  Abolitionists  themselves,  who  refused 
to  recognize  all  legal  authority  in  the  Territory  ^  and  that  the 
submission  of  the  Constitution,  as  provided  by  the  Lecompton 
Convention,  afforded  a  complete  expression  of  the  popular  will, 
as  the  slavery  question  was  the  only  one  about  which  there  was 
any  controversy  in  Kansas.  • 

The  bill  for  the  admission  of  Kansas  under  the  Lecompton 
Constitution,  was  passed  by  the  Senate.  In  the  House,  an 
amendment,  offered  by  Mr.  Montgomery,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
adopted,  to  the  effect  that,  as  it  was  a  disputed  point  whether 
the  Constitution  framed  at.  Lecompton  Tras  fairly  made,  or  ex- 
pressed the  will  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  her  admission  into 
the  Union  as  a  State  was  declared  to  be  upon  the  fundamental 
condition  precedent,  that  the  said  constitutional  instrument 
should  first  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  of  Kansas, 


32  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

and  assented  to  by  them,  or  by  a  majority  of  the  voters,  at  an 
election  to  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  question 
of  the  ratification  or  rejection  of  the  instrument. 

The  Senate  insisted  upon  its  bill :  the  House  adhered  to  its 
amendment ;  and  a  committee  of  conference  was  appointed. 
The  result  of  the  conference  was  the  report  of  a  bill  for  the 
admission  of  Kansas,  which  became  a  law  in  June,  1858,  and 
substantially  secured  nearly  all  that  the  North  had  claimed  in 
the  controversy. 

The  bill,  as  passed,  rejected  the  Land  Ordinance  contained 
in  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  and  proposed  a  substitute. 
Kansas  was  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing, 
in  all  respects,  with  the  original  States,  but  upon  the  funda- 
mental condition  precedent,  that  the  question  of  admission, 
along  with  that  of  the  Land  substitute,  be  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  people ;  that,  if  a  majority  of  the  vote  should  be 
against  the  proposition  tendered  by  Congress,  it  should  be  con- 
cluded that  Kansas  did  not  desire  admission  under  the  Le- 
compton Constitution,  with  the  condition' attached  to  it;  and 
that, , in  such  event,  the  people  were  authorized  to  form  for 
themselves  a  Constitution  and  State  government,  and  might 
elect  delegates  for  that  purpose,  after  a  census  taken  to  de- 
monstrate th»  fact,  that  the  population  of  the  Territory 
equalled  or  exceeded  the  ratio  of  representation  for  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Thus  ended  the  six  months'  discussion  of  the  Kansas  ques- 
tion in  Congress  in  1858.  The  substitute  to  the  Land  Ordi- 
nance was  rejected  by  the  voters  of  the  Territory ;  and 
Kansas  did  not  come  into  the  Union  until  nearly  three  years 
afterwards — just  as  the  Southern  States  were  going  out  of  it. 
She  came  in  under  an  anti-slavery  Constitution,  and  Mr.  Bu- 
chanan signed  the  bill^f  admission. 

The  discussions  of  the  Kansas  question,  as  summed  in  the 
preceding  pages,  had  materially  weakened  the  Union.  The 
spirit  of  those  discussions,  and  the  result  itself  of  the  contro- 
versy, fairly  indicated  that  the  South  could  hardly  expect,  un- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  33 

der  any  circumstances,  the  addition  of  another  slave  State  to 
the  Union.  The  Southern  mind  was  awakened;  the  sentimen- 
tal reverences  of  more  than  half  a  century  were  decried  ;  and 
men  began  to  calculate  the  precise  value  of  a  Union  which,  by 
its  "mere  name  and  the  paraphrase  of  demagogues,  had  long 
governed  their  affections. 

Some  of  these  calculations,  as  they  appeared  in  the  newspa- 
per presses  of  the  times,  were  curious,  and  soon  commenced  to 
interest  the  Southern  people.  It  was  demonstrated  to  them 
that  their  section  had  been  used  to  contribute  the  bulk  of  the 
revenues  of  the  government;  that  the  North  derived  forty  to 
fifty  millions  of  annual  revenue  from  the  South,  through  the 
operations  of  the  Tariff ;  and  that  the  aggregate  of  the  trade 
of  the  South  in  Northern  markets  was  four  hundred  millions 
of  dollars  a  year.  It  was  calculated  ])y  a  Northern  writer, 
that  the  harvest  of  gain  reaped  by  the  North  from  the  Union, 
from  unequal  taxations  and  the  courses  of  trade  as  between 
the  two  sections,  exceeded  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  per 
year. 

These  calculations  of  the  commercial  cost  of  the  "  glorious 
Union"  to  the  South,  only  presented  the  question  in  a  single 
aspect,  however  striking  that  was.  There  were  other  aspects 
no  less  important  and  no  less  painful,  in  which  it  was  to  be 
regarded.  The  swollen  and  insolent  power  of  Abolitionism 
threatened  to  carry  every  thing  before  it;  it  had  already 
broken  the  vital  principle  of  the  Constitution — that  of  the 
equality  of  its  parts;  and  to  injuries  already  accomplished,  it 
added  the  bitterest  threats  and  the  most  insufferable  insolence. 

While  the  anti-slavery  power  threatened  never  to  relax  its 
efforts  until,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  SeAvard,  a  Senator  from 
New  York,  the  "irrepressible  conflict"  between  slavery  and 
freedom  was  accomplished,  and  the  soil  of  the  Carolinas 
dedicated  to  the  institutions  of  New  England,  it  affected  the 
insolent  impertinence  of  regarding  the  Union  as  a  concession 
on  the  part  of  the  North,  and  of  taunting" the  South  with  the 
3 


34  •  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

disgrace  which  her  association  in  the  Union  inflicted  upon  the 
superiour  and  more  virtuous  people  of  the  Northern  States. 
The  excesses,  of  this  conceit  are  ridiculous,  seen  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  events.  It  was  said  that  the  South  was  an  infe- 
riour  part  of  the  "country;  that  she  was  a  spotted  and  degraded 
section ;  that  the  national  fame  abroad  was  compromised  by 
the  association  of  the  South  in  the  Union ;  and  that  a  New 
England  traveller  in  Europe  blushed  to  confess  himself  an 
American,  because  half  of  the  nation  of  that  name  were  slave- 
holders. Many  of.  the  Abolitionists  made  a  pretence  of  pray- 
ing that  the  Union  might  be  dissolved,  that  .they  might  be 
cleared,  by  the  separation  of  North  and  South,  of  any  impli- 
cation in  the  crime  of  slavery.  Even  that  portion  of  the  party 
calling  themselves  "Republicans"  affected  that  the  Union 
stood. in  the  way  of  thg  North.  Mr.  Banks,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  had  been  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  in  the  Thirty-first 
Congress,  had  declared  that  the  designs  of  his  party  were  not 
ito  be  baffled,  and  was  the  author  of  the  coarse  jeer — "Let  the 
Union  slide."  The  New  York  Tribune  had  complained  that 
the  South  "  could  not  be  kicked  out  of  the  Union."  Mr. 
Seward,  the  great  Republican  leader,  had  spread  the  evangely 
of  a  natural,  essential,  and  irrepressible  hostility  between  the 
two  sections  ;  and  the  North  prepared  to  act  on  a  suggestion, 
the  only  practical  result  of  which  could  be  to  cleave  the  Union 
apart,  and  to  inaugurate  the  horrours  of  civil  Avar. 

The  raid  into  Virginia  of  John  Brown,  a  notorious  aboli- 
tionist, whose  occupations  in  Kansas  had  been  ihoSe  of  a 
horse-thief  and  assassin,  and  his  murder  of  peaceful  and  un- 
suspecting citizens  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, 1859,  was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  lessons  of  the 
Northern  Republicans  and  of  their  inevitable  and,  in  fact, 
logical  conclusion  in  civil  war.  Professed  conservatives  in  the 
North  predicted  that  this  outrage  would  be  productive  of  real 
good  in  their  section,  in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  people  to 
what  were  well  characterized  as  "Blade  Republican"  doc- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  35 

trines.  This  prediction  was  not  verified  by  succeeding  events. 
The  Northern  elections  of  the  next  month  showed  no  diminu- 
tion in  the  Black  Republican  vote.  The  manifestations  of 
sympathy  for  John  Brown,  who  had  expiated  his  crime  on  a 
gallows  in  Virginia,  were  unequivocal  in  all  parts  of  the  North, 
though  comparatively  few  openly  justified  the  outrage.  Bells 
were  tolled  in  various  towns  of  New  England  on  the  day  of 
his  execution,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  local  authorities,  and, 
in  some  instances,  through  their  co-operation;  and  not  a  few 
preachers  from  the  pulpit  allotted  him  an  apotheosis,  and  con- 
signed his  example  to  emulation,  as  one  not  only  of  public 
virtue,  but  of  particular  service  to  God. 

The  attachment  of  the  South  to  the  Union  was  steadily 
weakening  in  the  historical  succession  of  events.  The  nomi- 
nation in  December,  1859,  to  the  Speakership  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  Mr.  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  who  had  made 
himself  especially  odious  to  the  South  by  publicly  recommend- 
ing, in  connection  with  sixty-eight  other  Republican  members, 
a  fanatical  document  popularly  known  as  " Helper  s  Book,"* 

*  The  tone  of  this  book  was  violent  in  the  extreme.  We  add  a  few  ex- 
tract.*, which  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  correct  opinion  of  "the  charac- 
ter and  object  of  the  work —  t 

"  Slavery  is  a  great  moral,  social,  civil  and  political  evil,  to  be  got  rid  of 
at  the  curliest  practical  period  " — {Page  1G8.) 

" Three-quartet 8  of  a  century  hence,  if  the  South  retains  slavery,  which 
God  forbid  !  she  will  be  to  the  North  what  Poland  is  to  Russia,  Cuba  to 
Spain,  and  Ireland  to  England." — (/'.  1G3.) 

"Our  own  banner  is  inscribed — No  co-operation  with  slaveholders  in 
politics:  no  fellowship  with  them  in  religion;  no  affiliation  with  them  in 
society;  no  recognition  of  pro-slavery  men,  except  as  ruffians,  outlaws  and 
criminals." — (/'.  15G.) 

"We  believe  it  is,  as  it  ought  to  be,  the  desire,  the  determination  and  the 
destiny  of  the  Republican  party  to  give  the  death-blow  to  slavery." — (P.  234.) 

"In  any  event,  come  what  will,  transpire  what  may,  the  institution  of 
slavery  must  be  abolished." — (P.  ISO. )  ■ 

*"Wc  are  determined  to  abolish  slavery  at  all  hazards — in  defiance  of  all 
the  opposition,  of  whatever  nature,  it  is  possible  for  the  slaveocr^ts  to  bring 
against  us.  Of  this  they  may  take  due  notice,  and  govern  themselves  accord- 
ingly."—(P.  WJ.) 

"It  is  our  honest  conviction* that  all  the  pro-slavery  slaveholders  deserve 


26  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

from  the  name  of  the  author,  and  which  openly  defended  and 
sought  itself  to  excite  servile  insurrections  in  the  South,  pro- 
duced a  marked  effect  in  Congress,  and  was  encountered  by 
the  Southern  members  with  a  determined  spirit  of  opposition. 
The  entire  Southern  delegation  gave  warning  that  they  would 
regard  the  election  of  Mr.  Sherman,  or  of  any  man  with  his 
record,  as  an  open  declaration  of  war  upon  the  institutions 
of  the  South ;  as  much  so,  some  of  the  members  declared,  as 
if  the  Brown  raid  were  openly  approved  by  a  majority  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  The  Black  Republican  party  de- 
fiantly nominated  Sherman,  and  continued  to  vote  for  him  for 
near  two  months,  giving  him  within  four  votes  of  a  majority 
upon  every  trial  of  his  strength.  Although  he  was  finally 
withdrawn,  and  one'  of  his  party,  not  a  subscriber  to  the 
Helper  Book,  was  elected,  yet  the  fact  that  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  entire  Northern. delegation  had  adhered  to  Mr. 
Sherman  for  nearly  two  months  in  a  factious  and  fanatical 
spirit,  produced  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  Southern 
members  and  of  their  constituents.  The  early  dissolution  of 
the  Union  had  come  to  be  a  subject  freely  canvassed  among 
members  of  Congress. 

With  the  unveiling  of  the  depth  of  the  designs  of  the*  Black 
Republican  party,  another  danger  was  becoming  manifest  to 
the  South.  It  was  the  demoralization  of  the  Northern  Demo- 
cratic party  on  the  slavery  question.  This  whole  party  had 
been  an  unhealthy  product ;  its  very  foundation  was  a  prin- 
ciple of  untruth,  and  false  to  its  own  section,  it  could  not  be 
expected  to  adhere  to  friends  whom  it  had  made  from  interest 
and  who  had  fallen  into  adverse  circumstances.     It  had  united 


at  once  to  be  reduced  to  a  parallel  with  the  basest  criminals  that  lie  fettered 
■within  the  cells  of  our  public  prisons." — (P.  158.) 

"Shall  we  pat  the  bloodhounds  of  slavery?  §hall  we  fee  the  curs 'of 
slavery?     Shall  we  pay  the  whelps  of  slavery?     No,  never." — (P.  329.) 

"  Our  purpose  is  as  firmly  fixed  as  the  eternal  pillars  of  heaven  ;  we  have 
determined  to  abolish  slavery,  and,  so  help  us  God!  abolish  it  we. will." — 
(P.  187.) 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  37 

with  the  South  for  political  power.  In  the  depression  of  that 
power,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  anti-slavery  party  in  the 
North,  it  had  no  hesitation  in  courting  and  conciliating  the 
ruling  element.  This  disposition  was  happily  accommodated 
by  the  controversy  which  had  taken  place  between  Mr. 
Douglas  and  the  administration  of  Mr.  Buchanan.  The  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  in  the  North  was  conciliated  by  the  parti- 
sans of  the  Illinois  demagogue,  in  adopting  a  new  principle 
for  the  government  of  the  Territories,  which  was  to  allow  the 
people  to  determine  the  question  of  slavery  in  their  territorial 
capacity,  without  awaiting  their  organization  as  a  State,  and 
thus  to  risk  the  decision  of  the  rights  of  the  South  on  the 
verdict  of  a  few  settlers  on  the  public  domain.  This  pander 
to  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  Norths  was  concealed 
under  the  demagogical  name  of  "popular  sovereignty,"  and 
was  imposed  upon  the  minds  of  not  a  few  of  the  Southern 
people  by  the  artfulness  of  its  appeals  to  the  name  of  a  prin- 
ciple, which  had  none  of  the  substanoe  of  justice  or  equality. 
The  concealment,  however,  was  but  imperfectly  availing.  The 
doctrine  of  Mr.  Douglas  was  early  denounced  by  one  of  the 
most  vigilant  statesmen  of  the  South  as  "  a  short  cut  to  all 
the  ends  of  Black  Republicanism;"  and  later  in  time,  while 
,the  "Helper  Book"  controversy  was  agitating  the  country, 
and  other  questions  developing  the  union  of  all  the  anti- 
slavery  elements  for  war  upon  the  South,  a  Senator  from 
Georgia  was  found  bold  enough  to  denounce,  in  his  place  in 
Congress,  the  entire  Democratic  party  of  the  North  as  unre- 
liable and  "rotten." 

The  State  Rights  party  of  the  South  had  co-operated  with 
the  Democracy  of  the  North  in  the  Presidential  canvass  of 
1856,  upon  the  principles  of  the  platform  adopted  by  the 
National  Democratic  Convention,  assembled  in  Cincinnati,  in 
June  of  that  year.  They  expressed  a  willingness  to  continue 
this  co-operation  in  the  election  of  1860,  upon  the  principles 
of  the  Cincinnati  platform ;  but  demanded,  as  a  condition 
precedent  to  this,  that  the  question  of  the  construction  of  this 


38  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

» 

platform  should  be  satisfactorily  settled.  To  this  end,  the 
State  Rights  Democratic  party  in-  several  of  the  Southern 
States  defined  the  conditions  upon  which  their  delegates 
should  hold  seats  in  the  National  Convention,  appointed  to 
meet  at  Charleston  on  the  23d  of  April,  1860.  The  Demo- 
cracy in  Alabama  moved  first.  On  the  11th  January,  .1860, 
they  met  in  Convention  at  Montgomery,  and  adopted  a  series 
of  resolutions,  from  which  the  following  are  extracted,  as  pre- 
senting a  summary  declaration  of  the  rights  of  the  South,  a 
recapitulation  of  the  territorial  ^question,  and  a  definition  of 
those  issues  on  which  the  contest  of  .1860  was  to  be  con- 
ducted: 

Resolved,  by  the  Democracy  of  the  State  of  Alabama  in  Convention  assem- 
bled, That  holding  all  issues  and  principles  upon  which  they  have  heretofore 
affiliated  and  acted  with  the  National  Deihocratic  party  to  be  inferiour  ia  dig- 
nity and  importance  to  the  great  question  of  slavery,  they  content  themselves 
with  a  general  re-affirmance  of  the  Cincinnati  platform  as  to  such  issues, 
and  also  endorse  said  platform  as  to  slavery,  together  with  the  following 
resolutions : 


Resolved,  That  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  a  compact  between 
sovereign  and  co-equal  States,  united  upon  the  basis  of  perfect  equality  of 
rights  and  privileges. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  territories  of  the  United  States  are  common 
property,  in  which  the  States  have  equal  rights,  and  to  which  the  citizens  of 
every  State  may  rightfully  emigrate,  with  their  slaves  or  other  property 
recognized  as  such,  in  any  of  the  States  "of  the  Union,  or  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  "States  has  no  power  to 
abolish  slavery  in  the  territories,  or  to  prohibit  its  introduction  into  any  of 
them.  .  • 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  territorial  legislatures,  created  by  the  legisla- 
tion of  Congress,  has  no  power  to  abolish  slavery,  or  to  prohibit  the  intro- 
duction of  the  same,  or  to  impair  by  unfriendly  legislation  the  security  and 
full  enjoyment  of  the  same  within  the  territories;  and  such  constitutional 
power  certainly  does  not  belong  to  the  pe.ople  of  the  territories  in  any  capa- 
city, before,  in  the  exercise  of  a  lawful  authority,  they  form  a  Constitution, 
preparatory  to  admission  as  a  State  into  the  Union  ;  and  their  action  in  the 
exercise  of  such  lawful  authority  certainly  cannot  operate  or  take  effect 
before,  their  actual  admission  as  a  State  into  the  Union. 

Resolved,  further,  Th'at  the  principles  enunciated  by  Chief  Justice.  Taney, 
in  his  opinion  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  deny  to  the  territorial  legislature  the 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  39 

power  to  destroy  or  impair,  by  any  legislation  whatever,  the  right  of  property 
in  slaves,  and  maintain  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  all  of 
its  departments,  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  owner  of  such  property  in  the 
territories  ;  and  the  principles  so  declared  are  hereby  asserted  to  be  the  rights 
of  the  South,  and  the  South  should  maintain  them. 

Resolved,  further,  That  we  hold  all  of  the  foregoing  propositions  to  contain 
"cardinal  principles" — true  in  themselves — and  just  and  proper  and  neces- 
sary for  the  safety  of  all  that  is  dear  to  us;  and  we  do  hereby  instruct  our 
delegates  to  the  Charleston  Convention  to  present  them  for  the  calm  con- 
sideration and  approval  of  that  body — from  whose  justice  and  patriotism  we 
anticipate  their  adoption. 

•  Resolved,  further,  That  our  delegates  to  the  Charleston  Convention  are 
hereby  expressly  instructed  to  insist  that  said  Convention  shall  adopt  a  plat- 
form of  principles,  recognizing  distinctly  the  rights  of  the  South  as  asserted 
in  the  foregoing  resolutions;  and  if  the  said  National  Convention  shall  refuse 
to  adopt,  in  substance,  the  propositions  embraced  in  the  preceding  resolu- 
tions, prior  to  nominating  candidates,  our  delegates  to  said  convention  are 
hereby  positively  instructed  to  withdraw  therefrom. 

Under  these  resolutions  the  delegates  from  Alabama  re- 
ceived their  appointment  to  the  Charleston  Convention.  The 
delegates  from  some  of  the  other  Cotton  States  were  ap- 
pointed under  instructions  equally  binding.  Anxious  as  were 
the  Southern  delegates  fo  continue  their  connection  with  the 
Convention,  and  thus  to  maintain  the  nationality  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  they  agreed  to  accept,  as  the  substance  of  the 
Alabama  platform,  either  of  the  two  following  reports  which 
had  been  submitted  to  the  Charleston  Convention  by  the 
majority  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions — this  majority  not 
only  representing  th*»t  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  but  the 
only  States  at  all  likely  to  be  carried  by  the  Democratic 
party  in  the  Presidential  election  : 


-   I- 

Resolved,  That  the  platform  at  Cincinnati  be  re-affirmed  with  the  following 
resolutions : 

•  Resolved,  That  the  Democracy  of  the  United  States  hold  these  cardinal 
principles  on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  territories :  First,  that  Congress 
has  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  territories.  Second,  that  the  Territo- 
rial Legislature  has  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  any  territory,  nor  to 
prohibit  the  introduction  of  slaves  therein,  nor  any  power  to  exclude  slavery 


40  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE  WAR. 

therefrom,  nor  any  power  to  destroy  and   impair  the  right  of  property  in 
slaves  by  any  legislation  whatever. 


II. 

Resolved,  That  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Democratic  party  at  Cincinnati 
be  affirmed,  with  the  following  explanatory  resolutions  : 

First.  That  the  government  of  a  territory,  organized  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, is  provisional  and  temporary;  and,  during  its  existence,  all  citizens  of 
the  United  States  have  an  equal  right  to  settle  with  their  property  in  the 
territory  without  their  rights,  either  of  person  or  property,  being  destroyed 
or  impaired  by  congressional  or  territorial  legislation. 

Second.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  all  its  depart- 
ments, to  protect,  when-necessary,  the  rights  of  persons  and  property  in  the 
territories  and  wherever  else  its  constitutional  authority' extends. 

Third.  That  when  the  settlers  in  a  territory  having  an  adequate  popula- 
tion form  a  State  Constitution,  the  right  of  sovereignty  commences,  and, 
being  consummated  by  admission  into  the  Union,  they  stand  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  people  of  other  States;  and  the  State,  thus  organized,  ought' 
to  be  admitted  into  the  Federal  Union,  whether  its  Constitution  prohibits  or 
recognizes  the  institution  of  slavery. 

The  Convention  refused  to  accept  either  of  the  foregoing 
resolutions,  and  adopted,  by  a  vote  of  165  to  138,  the  follow- 
ing as  its  platform  on  the  slavery  question  : 

1.  Resolved,  That  we,  the  Democracy  of  the  Union,  in  Convention  assem- 
bled, hereby  declare  our  affirmance  of  the  resolutions  unanimously  adopted 
and  declared  as  a  platform  of  principles  by  the  Democratic  Convention  at 
Cincinnati,  in  the  year  1856,  believing  that  Democratic  principles  are  un- 
changeable in  their  nature,  when  applied  to  the  same  subject  matters;  and 
we  recommend  as  the  only  further  resolutions  the  following: 

Inasmuch  as  differences  of  opinion  exist  in  the  Democratic  party  as  to  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  of  a  Territorial  Legislature,  and  as  to  the 
powers  and  duties  of  Congress,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
over  the  institution  of  slavery  within  the  Territories: 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  will  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  on  the  questions  of  constitutional  law. 

The  substitution  of  these  resolutions  for  those  -which  were 
satisfactory  to  the  South,  occasioned  the  disruption  of  the 
Convention,  after  a  session  of  more  than  three  weeks,  and  its 
adjournment  to  Baltimore,  on  the  18th  of  June.  The  Cotton 
States,  all,  withdrew  from  the  Convention ;    but  th'e  Border 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  41 

Slave  States  remained  in  it,  with  the  hope  of  effecting  some 
ultimate  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  The  breach,  however, 
widened.  The  re-assembling  of  the  Convention  at  Baltimore 
resulted  in  a  final  and  embittered  separation  of  the  opposing 
delegations.  The  majority  exhibited  a  more  uncompromising 
spirit  than  ever;  and  Virginia  and  all  the  Border  Slave  States, 
with  the  exception  of  Missouri,  withdrew  from  the  Convention, . 
and  united  with  the  representatives  of  the  Cotton  States,  then 
assembled  in  Baltimore,  in  the  nomination  of  candidates  repre- 
senting the  views  of  the  South.  Their  nominees  were  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  .Kentucky,  for  President,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of 
Oregon,  for  Vice-President. 

The  old  Convention,  or  what  remained  of  it,  nominated  Ste- 
phen A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  for  President,  and  Benjamin 
Fitzpatrick,  of  Alabama,  for  Vice-President.  The  latter  declin- 
ing, Ilerschel  V.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  was  substituted  on  the 
ticket. 

The  Southern  Democracy  and  the  Southern  people  of  all 
parties,  with  but  few  exceptions,  sustained  the  platform  de- 
manded by  the  Southern  delegates  in  the  Convention,  and  jus- 
tified the  course  they  had  pursued.  They  recognized  in  the 
platform  a  legitimate  and  fair  assertion  of  Southern  rights. 
In  view,  however,  of  the  conservative  professions  and  glozed 
speeches  of  a  portion  of  the  Northern  Democracy,  a  respecta- 
ble number  of  Southern  Democrats  were  induced  to  support 
their  ticket.  Mr.  Douglas  proclaimed  his  views  to  be  in  favour 
•  of  Non-Intervention;  he  avowed  his  continued  and  unalterable  , 

opposition  to  Black  Republicanism ;  his  principles  were  pro- 
cessed to  be  "held  subject  to  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court" — the  distinction  between  judicial  questions  and  politi- 
cal questions  being  purposely  clouded;  and  his  friends,  with 
an  ingenious  sophistry  that  had  imposed  upon  the  South  for 
thirty  years  with  success,  insisted  that  the  support  of  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  was  a  support  of  the  party  in  the  North  which  had 
stofid  by  the  South  amid  persecution  and  defamation.  In  con- 
sequence of  these  and  other  protestations,  tickets  were  got  up 


42  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

for  Mr.  Douglas  in  most  of  the  Southern  States.  The  great 
majority,  however,  of-  the  Democracy  of  the  slave-holding 
States,  except  Missouri,  supported  Breckinridge. 

A  Convention  of  what  was  called  the  "  Constitutional  Union  " 
party  met  in  Baltimore  on  the  9th  of  May,  1860,  and  nomi- 
nated for  President  and  Vice-President,  John  Bell,  of  Tennes- 
see, and  Edward-  Everett,  of  Massachusetts.  The  platform 
consisted  of  a  vague  and  undefined  enumeration  of  their  polit- 
ical principles;  as,  "The  Constitution  of  the  country,  the 
Union  of  the  States,  and  the  Enforcement  of  the  laws." 

The  National  Convention  of  the  Black  Republican  party 
was  held  at  Chicago,  in  the  month  of  June.  It  adopted  a  plat- 
form declaring  freedom  to  be  the  "normal  condition"  of  the 
Territories;  but  ingeniously  complicating  its  position,  on  the 
slavery  question  by  a  number  of  vague  but  plausible  articles, 
such  as  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  of  the  Constitution, 
and  especial  attachment  to  the  Union  of  the  States. 

The  Presidential  ticket  nominated  by  the  Convention  was 
Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  for  President,  ■  and  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  of  Maine,  for  Vice-President.  Governed  by  the  nar- 
row considerations  of  party  expediency,  the  Convention  had 
adopted  as  their  candidate  for  President  a  man  of  scanty  po- 
litical record — a  Western  lawyer,  with  the  characteristics  of 
that  profession — acuteness,  slang,  and  a  large  stock  of  jokes— 
and  who  had  peculiar  claims  fo  vulgar  and  demagogical  popu- 
larity, in  the  circumstances  that  he  was  once  a  captain  of 
.  volunteers  in  one  of  the  Indian  wars,  and  at  some  anterior  pe- 
riod of  his  life,  had  been  employed,  as  report  differently  said, 
in -splitting  rails,  or  in  rowing  a  fiat-boat. 

The  great  majority  of  the  Southern  Democracy  supported 
the  Breckinridge  ticket;  it  was  the  leading  ticket  in  all  the 
Slave  States,  except  Missouri ;  but  in  the  North  but  a  small 
and  feeble  minority  of  the  Democratic  party  gave  it  their  sup- 
port. In  several  States,  the  friends  of  Douglas,  of  Breckin- 
ridge and  of  Bell  coalesced,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  a  view  to 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  43 

the  defeat  of  Lincoln,  but  without  success,  except  in  New  Jer- 
sey, where  they  partially  succeeded. 

The  result  of  the  contest  was,  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
received  the  entire  electoral  vote  of  every  free  State,  except 
New  Jersey,  and  was,  of  course,  elected  President  of  the 
United  States,  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Constitution. 

The  entire  popular  vote  for  Lincoln -was  1,858,200;  that 
for  Douglas,  giving  him  his  share  of  the  fusion  vote,  2,276,780; 
that  for  Breckinridge,  giving  him  his  share  of  the  fusion  vote, 
812,500;  and  that  for  Bell,  including  his  proportion  of  the  fu- 
sion vote,  785,504.  The  whole  vote  against  Lincoln  was  thus 
2,824,874,  showing  a  clear  aggregate  majority  against  him  of 
nearly  a  million  of  votes. 

During  the  canvass,  the  North  had  been  distinctly  warned 
by  the  conservative  parties  of  the  country,  that  the  election  of 
Lincoln  by  a  strictly  sectional  vote,  would  be  taken  as  a  decla- 
ration of  war  against  the  South.  This  position  was  assumed 
on  the  part  of  the  South,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the 
declaration  of  anti-slavery  principles  in  the  Chicago  plat- 
form, as  from  the  notorious  animus  of  the  party  supporting 
Lincoln.  The  Chicago  Convention  had  attempted  to  conceal 
the  worst  design*  of  Abolitionism  under  professions  of  advanc- 
ing the  cause  of  freedom  in. strict  accordance  with  the  Consti- 
tution and  the  laws.  The  South,  however,  could  not  be  igno- 
rant of  the  fact,  or  wanting  in  appreciation  of  it,  that  Lincoln 
had  been  supported  by  the  sympathizers  of  John  Brown,  the 
endorsers  of  the  "Helper  Book,"  the  founders  of  the  Kansas 
Emigrant  Aid  Societies,  and  their  desperate  abettors  and 
agents,  "Jim"  Lane  and  others,  and  by  the  opponents  ofcuhe 
Fugitive  Slave  Law.  It  was  known,  in  a  word,  that  Lincoln 
owed  his  election  to  the  worst  enemies  of  the  South,  and  that 
he  would  naturally  and  necessarily  select  his  councillors  from 
among  them,  and  consult  their  views  in  his  administration  of 
the  government. 

Threap  of  resistance  were  proclaimed  in  the  South.  It  is 
true  that  a  few  sanguine  persons  in  that  section,  indulging  nar- 


44  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

row  and  temporising  views  of  the  crisis,  derived  no  little  com- 
fort and  confidence  from  the  large  preponderance  of  the 
popular  vote  in  the  Presidential  contest  in  favour  of  the  con- 
servative candidates ;  and  viewed  it  as  an  augury  of  the  speedy 
overthrow  of , the  first  sectional  administration.  But  those 
whose  observations  were  larger,  and  comprehended  the  progress 
of  events,  took  quite  a  different  view  of  the  matter.  They 
could  find  no  consolation  or  encouragement  from  the  face  of 
the  record.  The  anti-slavery  party  had  organized  in  1840, 
with  about  seven  thousand  voters ;  and  in  1860  had  succeeded 
in  electing  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  conserva- 
tive party  in  the  North  had  been  thoroughly  corrupted.  They 
were  beaten  in  every  Northern  State  in  1860,  with  a  single  ex- 
ception, by  the  avowed  enemies  of  the  South,  who  but  a  few 
years  ago  had  been  powerless  in  their  midst.  The  leaders  of 
the  Northern  Democratic  party  had  in  1856  and  in  1860 
openly  taken  the  position  that  freedom  would  be  more  certainly 
secured  in  the  Territories  by  the  rule'of  Non-intervention  than 
by  any  other  policy  or  expedient.  This  interpretation  of  their 
policy  alone  saved  the  Democratic  party  from  entire  annihila- 
tion. The  overwhelming  pressure  of  the  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment had  prevented  their  acceding  to  the  Southern  platform  in 
the  Presidential  canvass.  Nothing  in  the  present  or  in  the  fu- 
ture could  be  looked  for  from  the  so-called  conservatives  of  the 
North;  and  the  South  prepared  to  go  out  of  a  Union,  which 
no  longer  afforded  any  guaranty  for  her  rights  or  any  perma- 
nent sense  of  security,  and  which  had  brought  her  under  the 
domination  of  a  growing  fanaticism  in  the  North,  the  senti- 
ments of  which,  if  carried  into  legislation,  would  destroy  her 
institutions,  confiscate  the.  property  of  her  people,  and  even 
involve  their  lives. 

The  State  of  South  Carolina  acted  promptly  and  vigour- 
ously,  with  no  delay  for  argument,  and  but  little  for  prepara- 
tion. Considering  the  argument  as  fully  exhausted,  she  deter- 
mined, by  the  exercise  of  her  rights  as  a  sovereign  State,  to 
separate  herself  from  the  Union.     Her  Legislature  called   a 


THE    FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE    WAR.      *  45 

Convention  immediately  after  the  result  of  the  Presidential 
election  had  been  ascertained.  The  Convention  met  a  few 
weeks  thereafter,  and  on  the  20th  day  of  December,  1860, 
formally  dissolved  the  connection  of  South  Carolina  with  the 
Union,  by  an  ordinance  of  secession,  which  was  passed  by  a 
unanimous  vote.  • 

On  the  same  day,  Major  Anderson,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  Federal  forces  in  Charleston  harbour,  evacuated  Fort  Moul- 
trie, spiking  the  guns  and  burning  the  gun-carriages,  and  occu- 
pied Fort  Sumter,  with  a  view  of  Strengthening  his  position. 
On  the  30th  of  December,  John  B.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War. 
resigned  his  office,  because  President  Buchanan  refused  to  order 
Major  Anderson  back  to  Fort  Moultrie — Mr.  Floyd  alleging 
that  he  and  the  President  had  pledged  the  authorities  of  South 
Carolina  that  the  existing  military  statt<s  of  the  United  States 
in  that  State  should  not  be  changed  during  the  expiring  term 
of  the  Democratic  administration. 

The  withdrawal  of  South  Carolina:  from  the  Union  produced 
some  sensation  in  the  North,  but  the -dominant  party  treated 
it  lightly.  Many  of  these  jeered  at  it ;  their  leaders  derided 
the  "right  of  secession:"  and  their  .newspapers  prophesied 
that  the  "  rebellion  "  in  South  Carolina  would  be  reduced  to 
the  most  ignominious  extremity  the  moment  the  "  paternal 
government "  of  the  United  States  should  resolve  to  have  re- 
course from  peaceful  persuasions  to  the  chastisement  of  "  a 
spoilt  child."  The  events,  however,  which  rapidly  succeeded 
the  withdrawal  of  South  Carolina,  produced  a  deep  impression 
upon  all  reflecting  minds,  and  startled,  to  some  extent,  the 
masses  of  the  North,  who  would  have  been  much  more  alarmed 
but  for  their  vain  and  long- continued  assurance  that  the  South 
had  no  means  or  resources  for  making  a  serious  resistance  to 
the  Federal  authority;  and  that  a  rebellion  which  could  at  any 
time  be  crushed  on  short  notice,  might  be  pleasantly  humoured 
or  wisely  tolerated  to  any  extent  short  of.  the  actual  com- 
mencement of  hostilities. 

On  the  9th  day  of  January,  1861,  the  State  of  Mississippi 


46  •     TTIE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

seceded  from  the  Union.  Alabama  and  Florida  followed  on 
the  11th  day  of  the  same  month :  Georgia  on  the  20th ; 
Louisiana  on  the  26th ;  and  Texas  on  the  1st  of  February. 
Thus,  in  less  than  three  months  after  the  announcement  of 
Lincoln's  election,  all  the  Cotton  States,  with  the  exception 
of  Arkansas,  had  acceded  from  the  Union,  and  had,  besides, 
secured  every  Federal  fort  within  their  limits,  except  the  forts 
in  the  Charleston  harbour  and  Fort  Pickens,  below  Pensacola, 
which  were  retained  by  United  States  troops. 
.  The  United  States  Congress  had,  at  the  beginning  of  its 
session  in  December,  1860,  appointed  committees  in  both 
houses  to  consider  the  state  of  the  Union.  Neither  committee 
was  able  to  agree  upon  any  mode  of  settlement  of  the  pending 
issue  between  the  North  and  the  South.  The  Republican 
members  in  both  committees  rejected  propositions  acknowledg- 
ing the  right  of  property  in  slaves,  or  recommending  the  divi- 
sion of  the  territories  between  the  slaveholding  and  non-slave- 
holding  States  by  a  geographical  line.  In  the  Senate,  the 
propositions,  commonly -known  as  Mr.  Crittenden's,  were  voted 
against  by  every  Republican  Senator;  and  the  House,  on  a 
vote  of  yeas  and  nays,  refused  to  consider  certain  propositions, 
moved  by  Mr.  Etheridge,  which  were  even  less  favourable  to 
the  South  than  Mr.  Crittenden's. 

A  resolution,  giving  a  pledge  to  sustain  the  President  in 
the  use  of  force  against  seceding  States,  was  adopted  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  by  a  large  majority ;  and,  in  the 
Senate,  every  Republican  voted  to  substitute  for  Mr.  Critten- 
den's propositions,  resolutions  offered  by  Mr.  Clarke,  of  New 
Hampshire,  declaring  that  no  new  concessions,  guaranties  or 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  were  necessary ;  that  the  de- 
mands of  the  South  were  unreasonable,  and  that  the  remedy 
for  the  present  dangers  was  simply  to  enforce  the  laws — in 
other  words — coercion  and  tvar. 

On  the  19th  cby  of  Januai-y,  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  Virginia  had  passed  resolutions  having  in  view  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  the  questions  which  threatened  the  Union,  and 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WJflL  47 

suggesting  that  a  National  Peace  Conference  should  be  held 
in  Washington  on  the  4th  of  February.  This  suggestion  met 
with  a  favourable  response  from  the  Border  Slave  States  and 
from  professed  conservatives  in  the  North.  The  Conference  ■ 
met  on  the  day  designated,  and  Ex-President  Tyler;  of  -Vir- 
ginia, was  called  to  preside  over  its  deliberations.  It  remained 
in  session  several  days,  and  adjourned  without  agreeing  upon 
any  satisfactory  plan  of  adjustment. 

Most  of  the  delegates  from  the  Border  Slave  States  indi- 
cated a  willingness  to  accept  the  few  anYl  feeble  guaranties 
contained  in  the  resolutions  offered,  a  short  time  since,  in  the 
Senate  by  Mr.  Crittenden.  These  guaranties,  paltry  and  in- 
effectual as  they  were,  would  not  be  conceded  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Northern  States.  The  Peace  Conference 
finally  adopted  what  was  called  the  Franklin  Substitute  in  lieu 
of  the  propositions  offered  by  Mr.  Guthrie,  of  Kentucky — a 
settlement  less  favourable  to  the  South  than  that  proposed  by 
Mr.  Crittenden.  It  is  useless  to  recount  the  details  of  these 
measures.  Neither  the  Crittenden  propositions,  the  Franklin 
Substitute,  nor  any  plan  that  pretended  to  look  to  the  guaranty 
of  Southern  rights,  received  a  respectful  notice  from  the  Re- 
publican majority  in  Congress. 

Shortly  after  its  assemblage  in  January,  the  Virginia  Legis- 
lature had  called  a  convention  of  the  people  to  decide  upon  the 
course  proper  to  be  pursued  by  the  State,  with  reference  to  her 
present  relations  to  the  Union  and  the  future  exigencies  of  her 
situation.  The  election  was  held  on  the  4th  of  February,  and 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  majority  of  members  opposed  to 
unconditional  secession.  Subsequently,  Tennessee  and  North 
Carolina  decided  against  calling  a  convention — the  former  by 
a  large,  the  latter  by  a  very  small  majority.  These  events 
greatly  encouraged  the  enemies  of  the  South,  but  without 
cause,  as  they  really  indicated  nothing  more  than  the  purpose 
of  the  Border  Slave  States  to  await  the  results  of  the  peace 
propositions,  to  which  they  had  committed  themselves. 


48  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

In  the  meantime,  the  seceding  States  were  erecting  the 
structure  of  a  government  on  the  foundation  of  a  new  Con- 
federation of  States.  A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  six 
seceding  States  assembled  in  Congress  at  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama, on  the  4th  of  February,  1861,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  a  provisional  government.  This  body  adopted  a 
Constitution  for  the  Confederate  States  on  the  8th  of  Feb- 
ruary. On  the  9th  of  February,  Congress  proceeded  to  the 
election  of  a  President  and  Vice-President,  and  unanimously 
agreed  upon  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  for  President,  and 
Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  for  Vice-President.  Mr. 
Davis  was  inaugurated  Provisional  President  on  the  18th  of 
February,  and  delivered  an  address,  explaining  the  revolution 
as  a  change  of  the  constituent  parts,  but  not  the  system,  of  the 
government,  and  referring  to  the  not  unreasonable  expectation 
that,  with  a  Constitution  differing  only  from  that  of  their 
fathers,  in  so  far  as  it  was  explanatory  of  their  well-known 
intent,  freed  from  sectional  conflicts,  the  States  from  which 
they  had  recently  parted  might  seek  to  unite  their  fortunes  to 
those  of  the  new  Confederacy. 

President  Buchanan  had  in  his  message  to  Congress/  de- 
nounced secession  as  revolutionary,  but  had  hesitated  at  the 
logical  conclusion  of  the  right  of  "  coercion,"  on  the  part  of 
.  the  Federal  Government,  as  not  warranted  by  the  text  of  the 
Constitution.  Timid,  secretive,  cold,  and  with  no  other  policy 
than  that  of  selfish  expediency,  the  remnant  of  his  administra- 
tion was  marked  by  embarrassment,  double-dealing  and  weak 
and  contemptible  querulousness.  He  had  not  hesitated,  under 
the  pressure  of  Northern  clamour,  to  refuse  to  order  Major 
Anderson  back  to  Fort  Moultrie,  thus  violating  the  pledge 
that  he  had  given  to  the  South  Carolina  authorities,  that  the 
military  status  of  the  United  States  in  Charleston  harbour 
should  not  be  disturbed  during  his  administration.  He  added 
to  the  infamy  of  this  perfidy  by  a  covert  attempt  to  reinforce 
Fort  Sumter,  under  the  specious  plea  of  provisioning  a  "s4arv- 


THE    FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  49 

ing  garrison ;  "  and  when  the  Federal  steamship,  the  Star  of 
the  West,  which  was  sent  on  this  mission,  was,  on  the  9th  of 
January,  driven  off  Charleston  harbour  by  the  South  Caro- 
lina batteries  on  Morris  Island,  he  had- the  hardihood  to  affect 
surprise  and  indignation  at  the  reception  given  the  Federal 
reinforcements,  and  to  insist  that  the  expedition  had  been 
ordered  with  the  concurrence  of  his  Cabinet,  including  Mr. 
Thompson,  of  Mississippi,  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who 
repelled  the  slander,  denounced  the  movement  .as  underhanded, 
and  as  a  breach  not  only  of  good  faith  towards  South  Caro- 
lina, but  of  personal  confidence  between  the  President  and  his 
advisers,  and  left  the  Cabinet  in  disgust. 

On  the  incoming  of  the  administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
on  the  4th  of  March,  the  rival  government  of  the  South  had 
perfected  its  organization  ;  the  separation  had  been  widened 
and  envenomed  by  the  ambidexterity  and  perfidy  of  President 
Buchanan ;  the  Southern  people,  however,  still  hoped  for  a 
peaceful  accomplishment  of  their  independence,  and  deplored 
war  between  the  two  sections,  as  "  a  policy  detrimental  to  the 
civilized  world."  The  revolution  in  the  meantime  had  rapidly 
gathered,  not  only  in  moral  power,  but  in  the  means  of  war 
and  the  muniments  of  defence.  Fort  Mourtrie  and  Castle 
Pinckney  had  been  captured  by  the  South  Carolina  troops ; 
Fort  Pulaski,  the  defence  of  the  Savannah,  had  been  taken  ; 
the  arsenal  at. Mount  Vernon,  Alabama,  with  20,000  stand  of 
arms,  had  been  seized  by  the  Alabama  troops  ;  Fort  Morgan, 
in  Mobile  Bay,  had  been  taken  ;  Forts  Jackson,  St.  Philip's 
and  Pike,  near  New  Orleans,  had  been  captured  by  the  Louis- 
iana troops  ;  the  Pensacola  Navy-Yard  and  Forts  Barrancas 
and  McRae  had  been  taken,  and  the  siege  of  Fort  Pickens 
commenced ;  the  Baton  Rouge  Arsenal  had  been  surrendered 
to  the  Louisiana  troops ;  the  New  Orleans  Mint'  and  Custorn- 
House  had  been  taken ;  the  Little  Rock  Arsenal  had  been 
seized  by  the  Arkansas  troops;  and,  on  the  16th  of  February, 
General  Twiggs  had  transferred  the  public  property  in  Texas 
4 


50  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

to  the  State  authorities.  All  of  these  events  had  been  accom- 
plished without  bloodshed.  Abolitionism  and  Fanaticism  had 
not  yet  lapped  blood.  But  reflecting  men  saw  that  the  peace 
■was  deceitful  and  temporizing  ;  that  the  temper  of  the  North 
was  impatient  and  dark ;  and  that,  if  all  history  was  not  a  lie, 
the  first  incident  of  bloodshed  would  be  the  prelude  to  a  war 
of  monstrous  proportions. 


TUB   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   1TAR.  51 


CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Journey  to  Washington. ..Ceremonies  of  the"  "Inauguration... 
The  Inaugural  Speech  of  President  Lincoln. ..The  Spirit  ef  the  New  Admin- 
istration...Its  Financial  Condition. ..Embassy  from  the  South«rn  Confederacy... 
Perfidious  Treatment  of  the  Southern  Commissioners. ..Preparations  for  War 
...The  Military  Bills  of  the  Confederate  Congress. ..General  Beauregard. ..For- 
tifications of  the  Charleston  Harbour. ..Naval  Preparations  of  the  Federal 
Government...  Attempted  Rc-inforcement  of  Fort  Sumter. ..Perfidy  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government. ..Excitement  in  Charleston. ..Reduction  of  Fort  Sumter  by 
the  Confederate  Forces... How  the  News  was  Received  in  Washington. ..Lin- 
coln's Calculation. ..His  Proclamation  of  War. ..The  "  Reaction  "  in  the  North 
...Displays  of  Rancour  Towards  the  South. ..Northern  Democrats... Replies  of 
Southern  Governors  to  Lincoln's  Requisition  for  Troops. ..Spirit  of  the  South 
...Secession  of  Virginia... Maryland. ..The  Baltimore  Riot. ..Patriotic  Example 
of  Missouri... Lincoln's  Proclamation  Blockading  the-  Southern  Torts. ..Gen- 
eral Lee. ..The  Federals  Evacuate  Harper's  Ferry — Burning  of  the  Navy  Yard 
nt  Norfolk. ..The  Secoud  Secessionary  Movement. ..Spirit  of  Patriotic  Devo- 
tion in  the  South — Supply  of  Arms  in  the  South — The  Federal  Government 
aud'the  State  of  Maryland. ..The  Prospect. 

• 

The  circumstances  of  the  advent  of  Mr.  Linco'n  to  Wash- 
ington were  not  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  in  his  courage 
or  wisdom,  or  in  the  results  of  his  aduiinistration.  His  party- 
had  busily  prophesied,  and  sought  to  innoculate  the  North  with 
the  conviction,  that  his  assumption  of  the  Presidential  office 
would  be  the  signal  of  the  restoration  of  peace ;  that  by  some 
mysterious  ingenuity  he  would  resolve  the  existing  political 
complication,  restore  the  Union,  and  inaugurate  a  season  of 
unexampled  peace,  harmony  and  prosperity.  These  weak  and 
fulsome  prophecies  had  a  certain  effect.  In  the  midst  of  anx- 
iety and  embarrassment,  in  which  no  relief  had  yet  been 
suggested,  the  inauguration  of  a  new  administration  of  the 
government  was  looked  to  by  many  persons  in  the  North,  out- 
side the  Republican  party,  with  a  vague  sense  of  hope,  which 
was  animated  by  reports,  quite  as  uncertain,  of  the  vigour, 
decision  and  individuality  of  the  new  President.  For  memths 
since  the  announcement  of  his  election,  Mr.  Lincoln's  lips  had 


52  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OP   THE    WAR. 

been  closed.  He  had  been  studiously  silent ;  expectations  were 
raised  by  what  was  thought  to  be  an  indication  of  a  mysterious 
wisdom  ;  and  the  North  impatiently  waited  for  the  hour  when 
the  oracle's  lips  were  to  be  opened. 

These  vague  expectations  were  almost  ludicrously  disap- 
pointed. On  leaving  his  home,  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  for 
Washington,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  at  last  opened  his  lips.  In  the 
speeches  with  which  he  entertained  the  crowd  that  at  different 
points  of  the  railroad  watched  his  progress  to  the  capital,  he 
amused  the  whole  country,  even  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
public  anxiety,  with  his  ignorance,  his  vulgarity,  his  flip- 
pant conceit,  and  his  Western  phraseology.  The  North  dis- 
covered that  the  new  President,  instead  of  having  nursed  a 
masterly  wisdom  in  the  retirement  of  his  home  at  Springfield, 
and  approaching  the  capital  with  dignity,  had  nothing  better 
to  offer  to  an  agonized  country  than  the  ignorant  conceits  of  a. 
low  Western  politician,  and  the  flimsy  jests  of  a  harlequin. 
His  railroad  speeches  were  characterized  by  a  Southern  paper 
as  illustrating  "the  delightful  combination  of  a  Western 
county  lawyer  with  a  Yankee  bar-keeper."  In  his  harangues 
to  the  crowds  which  intercepted  him  in  his  journey,  at  a  time 
when  the  country  was  in  revolutionary  chaos,  when  commerce 
and  trade  were  prostrated,  and  when  starving  women  and  idle 
men  were  among  the  very  audiences  that  listened  to  him,  he 
declared  to  them  in  his  peculiar  phraseology  that  "nobody  was 
hurt, "  that  "  all  would  come  out  right"  and  that  there  was 
"nothing  going  wrong."  Nor  was  the  rhetoric  of  the  new 
President  his  only  entertainment  of  the  crowds  that  assembled 
to  honour  the  progress  of  his  journey  to  Washington.  He 
amused  them  by  the  spectacle  of  kissing,  on  a  public  platform, 
a  lady-admirer,  who  had  suggested  to  him  the  cultivation  of 
his.  whiskers ;  he  measured  heights  with  every  tall  man  he 
encountered  in  one  of  his  public  receptions,  and  declared  that 
he  was  not  to  be  "overtopped;"  and  he  made  public  exhibi- 
tions of  his  wife — "  the  little  woman,"  he  called  her — whose 
chubby  figure,  motherly  face,  and  fondness  for  finery  and   col- 


THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  53 

ours  recommended  her  to  a  very  limited  and  very  vulgar  portion 
of  the  society  of  her  sex. 

These  jests  and  indecencies  of  the  demagogue  who  "was  to 
take  controul  of  what  remained  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  belong  to  history.  Whatever  their  disgrace,  it  was 
surpassed,  however,  by  another  display  of  character  on  the  part 
of  the  coming  statesman.  While  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
and  intending  to  proceed  from  there  to  Baltimore,  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  alarmed  by  a  report,  which  was  either  silly  or  jocose,  that 
a  band  of  assassins  were  awaiting  him  in  the  latter  city. 
Frightened  beyond  all  considerations  of  dignity  and  decency, 
the  new  President  of  the  United  States  left  Harrisburg  at 
night,  on  a  different  route  than  that  through  Baltimore  ;  and  in 
a  motley  disguise,  composed  of  a  Scotch  cap  and  military  cloak, 
stole  to  the  capital  of  his  government.  The  distinguished 
fugitive  had  left  his  wife  and  family  to  pursue  the  route  on 
which  it  was  threatened  that  the  cars  were  to  be' thrown  down 
a  precipice  by  Secessionists,  or,  if  that  expedient  failed,  the 
work  of  assassination  was  to  be  accomplished  in  the  streets  of 
Baltimore.  The  city  of  Washington  was  taken  by  surprise  by 
the  irregular  flight  of  the  President  to  its  shelter  and  protec- 
tion. The  representatives  of  his  own  party  there  received  him 
with  evident  signs  of  disgust  at  the  cowardice  which  had  hur- 
ried his  arrival  in  Washington;  but  as  an  example  of  the  early 
prostitution  of  the  press  of  that  parasitical  city  to  the  incom- 
ing administration  that  was  to  feed  its  venal  lusts,  the  escapade 
of  Mr  Lincoln  was,  with  a  shamelessness  almost  incredible, 
exploited  as  an  ingenious  "and  brilliant  feat,  and  entitled,  in 
the  newspaper  extras  that  announced  his  arrival,  as  "another 
Fort  31oultrie  coup  de  main  " — referring  to  the  fraud  by  which 
the  government  had  stolen  a  march  by  midnight  to  the  supposed 
impregnable  defences  of  Fort  Sumter. 

But  Mr.  Lin'coln's  fears  for  his  personal  safety  evidently  did 
not  subside  with  his  attainment  of  the  refuges  of  Washington. 
A  story  was  published  seriously  in  a  New  York  paper,  that  at 
the  moment  of  his  inauguration  he  was  to  be  shot  on  the  Cap-, 


54  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

itol  steps,  by  an  air  gun,  in  the  hands  of  a  Secessionist,  selected 
for  this  desperate  and  romantic  task  of  assassination.  The 
President,  with  nerves  already  shattered  by  his  flight  from 
Harrisburg,  was  easily  put  in  a  new  condition  of  alarm.  An 
armed  guard  was  posted  around  Willard's  hotel,  where  he  had 
taken  temporary  quarters.  Preparations  were  busily  made  to 
organize  a  military  protection  for  the  ceremony  of  the  inaugu- 
ration. The  city  of  Washington  had  already  been  invested 
with  large  military  forces,  under  the  immediate  command  of 
General  Scott,  whose  vanity  and  weak  love  of  public  sensa- 
tions had  easily  induced  him  to  pretend  alarm,  and  to  make  a 
military  display,  more  on  his  own  account  than  for  the 
ridiculous  and  absurd  object  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  personal  secu- 
rity. For  weeks  the  usually  quiet  city  had  been  filled  with 
Federal  bayonets ;  the  bugle's  reveille,  the  roll  of  drums,  and 
the  tramp  of  armed  guards  startled,  in  every  direction,  the 
civilian  of  Washington,  who  had.  been  accustomed  to  nothing 
more  warlike  than  parades  at  the  Navy  Yard  and  rows  in 
Congress ;  companies  of  flying  artillery  daily  paraded  the 
streets  and  thundered  over  its  pavements ;  and  no  form  of 
ostentation  was  omitted  by  the  senile  and  conceited  General 
in  command,  to  give  the  Federal  metropolis  the  appearance  of 
a  conquered  city.  •  ■   » 

The  hour  of  the  inauguration — the  morning  of  the  fourth  of 
March — at  length  arrived.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  dressed  in  a  suit 
of  black  for  the  occasion,  and,  at  the  instance  of  his  friends, 
had  submitted  to  the  offices  of  a  hair-dresser.  He  entered  the 
barouche  that  was  to  convey  him  to' the  Capitol,  with  a  nervous 
agitation  and  an  awkwardness,  that  were  plainly  evident  to  the 
crowd.  His  person  attracted  the  curiosity  of  the  mob.  Of 
unusual  height,  the  effect  of  his  figure  was  almost  ludicrous, 
from  a  swinging  gait  and  the  stoop  of  his  shoulders  ;  a  cadav- 
erous face,  whose  expression  was  that  of  a  sort'  of  funeral  hu- 
mour ;  long,  swinging  arms,  with  the  general  hirsute  appearance 
of  the  Western  countryman,  made  up  the  principal  features  of 
•the  new  President. 


THE  ^"IRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  55 

• 
The  inauguration  ceremony  was  attended  by  a  most  extraor- 
dinary military  display,  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Gen- 
eral Scott ;  who,  to  give  it  an  appearance  of  propriety,  and  to 
increase  its  importance,  affected  the  most  uneasy  alarms.    Pre- 
vious to  inauguration  day,  the  vaults  of  the  Capitol  were  ex- 
plored for  evidences  of  a  gunpowder  plot  to  hurry  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  his  satellites  into  eternity.     In  the  procession  along  Penn- 
sylvania avenue,  the  President  was  hid  from  public  view  in  a 
hollow  square  of  cavalry,  three  or  four  deep.     The  tops  of  the 
houses  along  the  route  were  occupied  by  soldiery  watching  for 
signs  of  tumult  or  assassination.     Artillery  and  infantry  com- 
panies were  posted  in  different  parts  of  the  city;  officers  were 
continually   passing   to   and   fro;    and   as   the    procession   ap- 
proached the  Capitol,  Gen.  Scott,  who  was  in  constant  commu- 
nication with  all  quarters  of  the  city,  was  heard  to  exclaim,  in 
a  tone  of  relief,  "every  thing  is  going  on  peaceably;   thank 
God  Almighty  for  it."     The  expression  of  relief  was  simply 
ridiculous.     The  ceremony  was  disturbed  by  but  a  single  inci- 
dent; as  the  procession  neared  the  portico  of  the  Capitol,  a 
drunken  man,  who  had  climbed  up  one' of  the  trees  on  the  ave- 
nue, amused  himself  by  striking  with  a  staff  the  boughs  of  the 
tree  and  shouting  to  the  crowd.    The  thought  flashed  upon  the 
minds  of  the  special  police,  that  he  might  be  the  identical  as- 
sassin with  the  air-gun;  he  was  instantly  seized  by  a  dozen  of 
them,  and  hurried  from  the  scene  of  the  ceremony  with  a  ra- 
pidity and   decision  that  for  a  moment   alarmed,  and   then 
amused,  the  crowd.     Mr.  Lincoln  delivered  his  inaugural  from 
the  East  portico  of  the  Capitol,  to  an  audience  huddled  within 
the  lines  of  the  district  militia,  and  with  a  row  of  bayonets 
glittering  at  his  feet. 

The  inaugural  was  intended  to  be  ambiguous;  it  proposed  to 
cozen  the  South  by  a  cheap  sentimentalism,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  gratify  the  party,  that  had  elevated  Mr.  Lincoln,  by  a 
sufficient  expression  of  the  designs  of  the  new  administration. 
These  designs  were  sufficiently  apparent.  Mr.  Lincoln  pro- 
tested that  he  should  take  care  that  the  laws  of  the  United 


5G  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE  JVAR. 

• 

States  were  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  States;  he  declared 
that  in  doing  this,  there  wa»  no  necessity  for  bloodshed  or  vio- 
lence, "unless  it  was  forced  upon  the  national  authority." 
He  promised  that  the  power  confided  to  him  would  be  used  to 
hold,  occupy  and  possess  the  forts  and  places  belonging  to  the 
government;  "but,"  continued  the .  ambidextrous  speaker, 
"  beyond  what  may  be  necessary  for  these  objects'  there  will 
be  no  invasion,  no  using  of  force  against  or  among  any  people 
anywhere." 

In  the  South,  the  inaugural  was  generally  taken  as  a  premo- 
nition of  war.  There  were  other  manifestations  of  the  spirit 
of  the  new  administration.  Violent  Abolitionists  and  men 
whose  hatred  of  the  South  was  notorious  and  unrelenting,  were 
placed  in  every  department  of  the  public  service.  William  H. 
Seward  was  made  Secretary  of  State;  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury;  and  Montgomery  Blair,  Postmaster- 
General.  Anson  Burlingame  was  sent  as  representative  to 
Austria;  Gassius  M.  Clay,  to  Russia;  Carl  Shurz,  to  Spain; 
James  E.  Harvey,  to  Portugal;  Charles  F.  Adams,  to  Eng- 
land; and  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  to  Canada.  In  fhe  Senate, 
which  was  convened  in  an  extra  session  to  confirm  executive 
appointments  and  to  transact  other  public  business,  Charles 
Sumner  was  appointed  Chairman  of  Foreign  Relations;  Wil- 
liam P.  Fessenden,  of  Finance ;  and  Henry  Wilson,  of  Mili- 
tary Affairs.  A  portion  of  the  time  of  this  extra  session  was 
consumed  in  discussing  the  policy  of  the  administration.  Mr. 
Douglas,  who  had  represented  the  Northern  Democracy*  in  the 
Presidential  contest,  and  still  claimed  to  represent  it,  and  who 
had  already  courted  the  new  administration  of  his  rival — had 
held  Mr.  Lincoln's  hat  at  the  inauguration  ceremony,  and  en- 
acted the  part  of  Mrs.  Lincoln's  cavalier  at  the  inauguration 
ball — essayed  to  give  to  the  President's  inaugural  a,  peace  in- 
terpretation, and  to  soften  what  had  been  foreshadowed  of  his 
policy.  The  efforts  of  the  demagogue  were  ill-timed  and 
paltry.  Senators  from  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  Ken- 
tucky, Arkansas,  Missouri  and  North  Carolina,  who  still  con- 


"the  first  year  of  the  war.  57 


M 


tinued  in  the  councils  of  the  government,  remained  long  enough 
to  witness  the  subversion  of  all  the  principle^  that  had  before 
contributed  to  the  prosperity  and  stability  of  the  American 
Government;  to  learn,  as  far  as  possible,  the  course  the  gov- 
ernment would  pursue  towards  the  Confederate  States;  and  to_ 
return  home  to  prepare  their  peoph?  for  the  policy  of  discord, 
conflict  and  civil  war,  which  had  been  inaugurated. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  government  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  accession  was  by  no  means  desperate.  There  was  a 
balance  in  the  Treasury  of  six  millions,  applicable  to  current' 
expenses;  *the  receipts  from  customs  were  estimated  at  eighty 
thousand  dollars  per  day;  and  it  .was  thought  that  a  loan  would 
not  be  called  for  for  some  time,  should  there  be  a  happy  con- 
tinuation of  peace. 

The  Confederate  States  government  at  Montgomery  had 
shown  nothing  of  a  desperate  or  tumultuous  spirit;  it  Had  not 
watched  events,  with  recklessness  as  to  their  conclusion;  it 
was  anxious  for  peace;  and  it  gave  a  rare  evidence  of  the  vir- 
tue and  conservatism  of  a  new  government,  which  was  histori- 
cally the  fruit  of  a  revolution,  by  the  most  sedulous  efforts  to 
avoid  all  temptations  to  violence,  and  to  resist  the  consequence 
of  war.  Soon  after  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  it  had 
deputed  an  embassy  of  commissioners  to  Washington,  author- 
ized to  negotiate  for  the  removal  of  the  Federal  garrisons  from 
Ports  Pickens  and  Sumter,  and  to  provide  for  the  settlement  of 
all  claims  of  publie  property  arising  out  of  the  separation  of 
the  States  from  the  Union.  Two  of  the  commissioners,  Mai'- 
tin  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  and  John  Forsythe,  of  Alabama, 
attended  in  Washington,  and  addressed  a  communication  to  Mr. 
Seward,  which  explained  the  functions  of  the  embassy  and  its 
purposes. 

Mr.  Seward  declined  for  the  present  to  return  an  official  an- 
swer to  the  commissioners,  or  to  recognize  in  an  official  light 
their  humane  and  amicable  mission.  His  government  had  re- 
solved on  a  policy  of  perfid}r.  The  commissioners  were  amused 
from  week  to  week  with  verbal  assurances  that  the  government 


58  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

■was  disposed  to  recognize  them;  that  to  treat  with  them  at  the 
particular  juncturp  might  seriously  embarrass  the  administra- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln;  that'  they  should  be  patient  and  confi- 
dent; and  that  in  the  meantime  the  military  status  of,  the 
United  States  in  the  South  -would  not  be  disturbed.  Judge 
Campbell,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  had  consented  to  be  the  in- 
termediary of  these  verbal  conferences.  When  the  sequel  of 
the  perfidy  of  the  administration  was  demonstrated,  he  wrote 
two  notes  to  Mr.  Seward,  distinctly  charging  him  with  over- 
reaching and  equivocation,  to  which  Mr.  Seward  never  at- 
tempted a  defence  or  a  reply.  • 

The  dalliance  with  the  commissioners  was  not  the  only  de- 
ceitful indication  of  peace.  It  was  given  out  and  confidently 
reported  in  the  newspapers,  that  Fort  Sumter  was  to  be  evacu- 
ated by  the  Federal  forces.  The  delusion  was  continued  for 
weeks.  The  Black  Republican  party,  of  course,  resented  this 
reported  policy  of  the  government;  but  a  number  of  their 
newspapers  endeavoured  to  compose  the  resentment  by  the 
arguments  that  the  evacuation  would  be  ordered  solely  on  the 
ground  of  military  necessity,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  rein- 
force the  garrison  without  a  very  extensive  demonstration  of 
force,  which  the  government  then  was  not  prepared  to  make ; 
that  the  purposes  of  the  administration  had  not  relaxed,  and 
that  the  evacuation  of  Sumter  was,  as  one  of  the  organs  of  the 
administration  expressed  it,  but  "the  crouch  of  the  tiger  be- 
fore he  leaped." 

'  It  was  true  that  the  condition  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter 
had  been  a  subject  of  Cabinet  consultation ;  but  it  was  after- 
wards discovered  that  all  that  had  been  decided  by  the  advisers 
of  the  President,  among  whom  General  Scott  had  been  ad- 
mitted, was  that  military  reinforcement  of  the  fort  was,  under 
the  circumstances,  impracticable;  There  never  was  an  inten- 
tion to  evacuate  it.  The  embarrassment  of  the  government 
was,  to  avoid  the  difficulty  of  military  reinforcements  by  some 
artifice  that  would  equally  well  answer  its  purposes.     That  ar- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  59 

tifice  continued  for  a  considerable  time  to  be  the  subject  of 
secret  and  sedulous  consultation. 

While  a  portion  of  the  public  were  entertained  in  ■watching 
the  surface  of  events,  and  were  imposed  upon  by  deceitful 
signs  of  peace,  discerning  men  saw  the  inevitable  consequence 
in  the  significant  preparations  made  on  both  sides  for  war. 
These  'preparations  had  gone  on  unremittingly  since  the  inau- 
guration of  the  Lincoln  government.  The  troops  of  the  United 
States  were  called  from  the  frontiers  to  the  military  centres; 
the  Mediteranean  squadron  and  other  naval  forces  were  or- 
dered home;  and  the  city  of  Washington  itself  was  converted 
into  a  school  where  there  were  daily  and  ostentatious  instruc- 
tions of  the  soldier.  On  the  other  hand,  the  government  at 
Montgomery  was  not  idle.  Three  military  bills  had  been  passed 
by  the  Confederate  Congress.  The  first  authorized  the  raising 
of  one.hundred  thousand  volunteers  when  deemed  necessary  by 
the  President;  the  second  provided  for  the  Provisional  Army 
of  the  Confederate  States,  which  was  to  be  formed  from  the 
regular  and  volunteer  forces  of  the  different  States;  and  the 
third  provided  for  the  organization  of  a  Regular  Army,  which 
was  to  be  a  permanent  establishment.  But  among  the  strong- 
est indications  of  the  probability  of  war,  in  the  estimation  of 
men  calculated  to  judge  of  the  matter,  and  among  the  most 
striking  proofs,  too,  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  South,  was 
the  number  of  resignations  from  the  Federal  army  and  navy 
on  the  part  of  officers  of  Southern  birth  or  association,  and 
their  prompt  identification  with  the  Confederate  service.  flChese 
resignations  had  commenced  during  the  close  of  Mr.  Buchan- 
an's administration.  On  the  accession  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  Adju- 
tant General  Cooper  had  immediately  resigned;  and  the  dis- 
tinguished example  was  fallowed  by  an  array  of  names,  which 
had  been  not  a  little  illustrious  in  the  annals  of  the  Federal 
service. 

While  the  South  was  entreating  peace,  and  pursuing  its 
accomplishment  by  an  amicable  mission  to  Washington,  a 
strong  outside  pressure  was  being  exerted  upon  the  adminis- 


60  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  * 

tration  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  hurry  it  to  the  conclusion  of  war. 
He  had  been  visited  by  a  number  of  Governors  of.  the 
Northern  States.  t  They  offered  him  money  and  men;  but  it 
•was  understood  that  nothing  would  be  done  in  the  way  of 
calling  out  the  State  militia  and  opening  special  credits,  until 
the  Southern  revolutionists  would  be  actually  in  aggression  to 
the  authority  of  the  Federal  government.  Another 'appeal 
was  still  more  effectively  urged.  It  was  the  argument  of  the 
partisan.  The  report  of  the  intended  evacuation  of  Fort 
Sumter,  and  the  apparent  vacillation  of  the  administration, 
were  produciug  disaffection  in  the  Black  Republican  party. 
This  party  had  shown  a  considerable  loss  of  strength  in  the 
municipal  elections  in  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati  and  other  parts 
of  the  West;  they  had  lost  two  Congressmen  in  Connecticut 
and  two  in  Rhode  Island.  The  low  tariff,  too,  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  brought  into  competition  with  the  high  protective 
tariff  which  the  Black  Republican  majority  in  Congress  had 
adopted,  and  which  was  popularly  known  as  "the  Morrill 
Tariff,-'  was  threatening  serious  disaster  to*  the  interests  of 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania,  and  was  indicating  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  repeal  of  a  law  which  was  considered  as  an 
indispensable  party  measure  by  the  most  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
constituents. 

For  weeks  the  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  taxed  to 
devise  some  artifice  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter,  short  of 
'open  military  reinforcements,  (decided  to  be  impracticable,) 
and  which  would  have  the  effect  of  inaugurating  the  war  by  a 
safe  indirection  and  under  a  plausible  and  convenient'pretence. 
The. device  was  at  length  hit  uppn.  It  was  accomplished  by 
the  most  flagrant  perfidy.  Mr.  Seward  had  already  -given 
assurances  to  the  Southern  commissioners,  through  the  inter- 
mediation of  Judge  Campbell,  that  the  Federal  troops  would 
be  removed  from  Fort  Sumter.  Referring  to  the  draft  of  a 
letter  which  Judge  Campbell  had  in  his  hand,  and  proposed  to 
address  to  President  Davis,  al;  Montgomery,  he  said,  "before 
that  letter  reaches  its  destination,  Fort  Sumter  will  have  been 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   TIIS    WAR.  61 

evacuated."  Some  time  elapsed,  and  there  was  reason  to 
distrust  the  promise.  Colonel  Lamon,  an  agent  of  the  Wash- 
ington Government,  was  sent  to  Charleston,  and  was  reported 
to  be  authorized  to  make  arrangements  with  Governor  Pickens, 
of  South  Carolina,  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  Federal  troops 
from  Fort  Sumter.  He  returned  without  any  accomplish- 
ment of  his  reported  mission.  Another  confidential  agent  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  a  Mr.  Fox,  was  permitted  to  visit  Fort  §umter, 
and  was  discovered  to  have  acted  the  part  of  a  spy  in  carry- 
ing concealed  dispatches  to  Major  Anderson,  and  collecting 
information  with  reference  to  a  plan  for  the*  forcible  reinforce- 
ment of  the  fort.  On  the  7th  of  April,  Judge  Carffpbcll, 
uneasy  as  to  the  good  faith  of  Mr.  Seward's  promise  of  the 
evacuation  of  Sumter,  addressed  him  another  note  on  the  sub- 
ject. To  this  the  emphatic  and  laconic  reply  was:  " Fiith  as 
to  Sufhter  fully  kept — wait  and  see.'"  Six  days  thereafter  a 
hostile  fleet  was  menacing  Charleston,  the  Lincoln  Government 
threw  down  the  gauntlet  of  war,  and  the  battle  of  Sumter  was 
fought. 

On  the  day  succeeding,  the  inauguration  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, General  P.  G.  Toutant  Beauregard*  was  put  in  command 
of  the  Confederate  troops  besieging  Fort  Sumter.  His  mili- 
tary record  was  slight,  but  gave  evidence  of  genius.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  wealthy  and  influential  Louisiana  planter.  He 
had  graduated  at  the  military  academy  at  West  Point,  taking 
the  SQcond  honours  in  his  class,  and  had  served  in  the  Mexican 
war  with  distinction,  being  twice  brevetted  for  gallant  and 


*  Beauregard  is  forty  years  of  age.  He  is  small,  brown,  thin,  extremely 
vigorous,  although  his  features  wear  a  dead  expression,  and  his  hair  has 
whitened  prematurely.  Face,  physiognomy,  tongue,  accent — every  thing 
about  him  is  French.  He  is  quick,  a  little  abrupt,  but  well  educated  and 
distinguished  in  his  manners.  He  does  not  care  to  express  the  manifesta- 
tion of  an  ardent  personality  wMch  knows  its  worth.  He  is  extremely  im- 
passioned in  the  defence  of  the  cause  which  he  serves.  At  least  he  takes  less 
pains  to  conceal  his  passion  under  a  calm  and  cold  exterior  than  do  most  of 
his  comrades  in  the  army.  The  South  found  in  him  a  man  of  an  uncommon 
ardour,  a  ceaseless  activity,  and  an  indomitable  power  of  will. 


62        .  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   "WAR. 

meritorious"  conduct  in  the  field — the  first  time  as  captain  for 
the  battles  of  Contreras  and  Cherubusco,  and  again  as  major 
for  the  battle  of  Chepultepec.  He  was  subsequently  placed 
by  the  Federal'  Government  in  charge  of  the  construction  of 
the  mint  and  custom-house  at  New  Orleans.  He  had  been 
ordered  by  Mr.  Buchanan  to  West  Point  as  superintendent  of 
the  military  academy.  The  appointment  was  revoked  within 
forty-eight  hours  for  a  spiteful  reason — the  family  connection 
of  the  nominee  with  Mr.  Slidell,  of  Louisiana;  and  Major 
Beauregard,  resigning  his  commission  at  once,  received  higher 
rank  in  the  army  oT  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

On 'taking  command  of  the  Confederate  forces  at  Charles- 
ton, General  Beauregard  at  once  gave  the  benefit  of  his 
eminent  skill  as  a  military  engineer,  which  merit  had  been 
recognized  in  him  before,  and  had  procured  his  elevation  to 
the  important  and  critical  command  in  front  of -Fort  Sumter, 
to  the  construction  of  works  for  the  reduction  of  the  fort,  and 
the  defence  of  the  entrances  to  the  harbour.  At  the  time 
of  Major  'Anderson's  remqval  to  Sumter,  the  approaches  to 
the  harbour  were  only  defended  by  the  uninjured  guns  at 
Fort  Moultrie,  and  three  24-pounder  guns  mounted  en  bar- 
bette on  a  hastily  constructed  and  imperfect  earthwork  on 
Morris'  Island.  The  injured  guns  were  replaced,  and  all, 
amounting  to  thirty-eight  in  number,  of  yarious  calibres,  were 
protected  by  well-constructed  marlons ;  lines  of  batteries  were 
constructed  on  the  east  and  west  on  Sullivan's  Island ;  at 
Cummings'  Point  on  Morris'  Island,  the  nearest  land  to  Fort 
Sumter,  batteries  of  mortars  and  columbiads  were  erected,  pro- 
tected by  an  iron  fortjfication  of  novel  and  formidable  construc- 
tion ;  and  another  novelty  in  iron  fortifications  was  perfected 
by  the  skillful  and  practical  genius  of  the  commander  in  a 
floating  battery,  constructed  of  the  peculiarly  fibrous  palmetto 
timber,  sheathed  with  plate  iron,  and  embrasured  for  and 
mounting  four  guns  of  heavy  calibre. 

Notwithstanding  the  extent  and  skill  of  the  besiegers'  works, 
Fort  Sumter  was  declared,  by  a  number  of  military  critics,  to 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  63 

be  impregnable.  It  certainly  had  that  appearance  to  the 
unscientific  eye.  The  fortification,  a  modern  truncated  pen- 
tagonal fort,  rose  abruptly  out  of  the  water  at  the  mouth  of 
Charleston  harbour,  three  and  a  half  miles  from  the  city.  It 
was  built  on  an  artificial  island,  having  for  its  base  a  sand  and 
mud  bank,  which  had  been  made  secure  by  long  and  weary 
labours  in  firmly  imbedding  in  it  refuse  blocks  and  chips  from 
the  granite  quarries  of  the  Northern  States.  The  foundation 
alone  had  cost  the  government  half  a  million  of  dollars,  and 
had  occupied  ten  years  in  its  construction.  At  the  time  of 
Major  Anderson's  occupation  of  the  fortification,  it  was  so 
nearly  completed  as  to  admit  the  introduction  of  its  armament. 
.The  walls  were  of  solid  brick  and  concrete  masonry,  sixty  feet 
high  and  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  in  thickness,  and  pierced 
for  three  tiers  of  guns  on  the  northern,  eastern  and  western 
exterior  sides.  They  were  built  close  to  the  edge  of  the  water 
and  without  a  berme. 

The  advantages, of  delay  which  the  Lincoln  Government  had 

obtained  by  the  pretence  of  the  evacuation  of  Sumter  and  the 

adroitness  of  Mr.   Seward  with  the  commissioners,  had  been 

profitably  employed  by  it  in  naval  and  other  preparations  for 

its  meditated  blo^v  on  the  Southern  coasts.     Unusual  activity 

was  perceptible  in  all  the  dock-yards,  armouries  and  military 

depots    throughout    the   North.      The    arsenals   of   Troy   and 

"Watertown   were    constantly   occupied,   and    the    creaking    of 

blocks,  the  clang  of  hammers  and  the  hum  of  midnight  labour 

resounded   through   every,  manufactory  of  arms.     Numerous 

large  transports  were  employed  by  the  government  for  the 

conveyance  of  soldiers  and  war  material,  and  the  signs  of  the 

times  betokened  that  the  administration  was  preparing  for  a 

long  and  bloody  struggle.     Within   ten  days  from  the  first  of 

April,  over  eleven  thousand  men  were  sent  from  Fort  Hamilton 

and  Governor's  Island.     The  recruiting  offices  in  New  York 

were  daily  engaged  in  enrolling  men  for  the  Federal  service. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  the  frigate  Powhatan  was  ready  for  sea, 

and,  with  her  armament  of  ten  heavy  guns  and  four  hundred 


64  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

men,  prepared  as  convoy  to  the  transports  Atlantic,  Baltic 
and  Illinois.  On  'the  8th,  the  Atlantic  sailed  with  Barry's 
battery  (four  guns  and  ninety-one  men),  four  hundred  soldiers 
and  a  large  store  of  supplies.  The  same  morning,  the  steam- 
cutter  Harriet  Lane,  Captain  J.  Faunce,  eight  guns  and  One 
hundred  men,  sailed  for  Charleston  harbour.  Late  at  night, 
the  transport  Baltic,  with  twenty  surf-boats,  stores,  and  two 
hundred  recruits  from  Governor's  Island,  and  the  transport 
Illinois,  with'  five  hundred  cases  of  muskets,  stores,  three 
hundred  soldiers,  and  the  steam-tug  Freeborn,  sailed  from 
New  York  harbour.  On  the  whole,  besides  the  Powhatan, 
eleven  vessels  were  ordered  to  be  got  in  readiness,  with  an 
aggregate  force  of  285  guns  and.  2400  men.  There  was  now. 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  first  blow  of  the.  rival  forces 
would  be  struck  at  Sumter.  The  fleet  dispatched  to  Charles- 
ton harbour  consisted  of  the  sloop-of-war  Pawnee,  the  sloop- 
of-war  Powhatan,  and  the  cutter  Harriet  Lane,  with  three 
steam  transports. 

No  sooner  was  the  hostile'  fleet  of  the  Federal  Government 
safely  on  its  way  to  the  Southern  coasts  than  the  perfidy  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  advisers  was  openly  and  shamelessly 
consummated.  The  mask  was  dropped.  Th,e  Southern  Com- 
missioners who  had  been  so  long  cozened,  were  distinctly 
rebuffed  ;  and  simultaneously  with  the  appearance  of  the  Fed- 
eral fleet  in  the  offing  of  the  Charleston  harbour,  an  official 
message,  on  the  8th  day  of  April,  was  conveyed  to  Governor 
Sickens,  of  South  Carolina,  by  Lieutenant  Talbot,  an  author- 
ized agent  of  the  Lincoln  Government,  announcing  the  deter- 
mination of  that  government  to  send  provisions  to  Fort  Sumter, 
"  peaceably  if  they  can,  forcibly  if  they  must."  The  message 
was  telegraphed  by  General  Beauregard  to  Montgomery,  and 
the  instructions  of  his  government  asked.  He  was  answered 
by  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Walker,  the  Secretary  of  War,  in- 
structing him  to  demand  the  evacuation  of  the  fort,  and,  if 
that  was  refused,  to  proceed  to  reduce  it.  The  demand  was 
made;    it  was   refused.     Major    Anderson    replied   that   he 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  65 

regretted  that  his  sense  of  honour  and  of  his  obligations  to 
his  government  prevented  his  compliance  with  the  demand. 
Nothing  was  left  but  to  accept  the  distinct  challenge  of  the 
Lincoln  Government  to  arms. 

The  most  intense  excitement  prevailed  in  Charleston.  No 
sooner  had  the  official  message  of  Mr.  Lincoln  been  received, 
than  orders  were  issued  to  the  entire  military  force  of  the  citj 
to  proceed  to  their  stations.  Four  regiments,  of  one  thousand 
men  each,  were  telegraphed  for  from  the  country.  Ambu- 
lances for  the  wounded  were  prepared  ;  surgeons  were  ordered 
to  their  posts,  and  every  preparation  made  for  a  regular  battle. 
Among  the  portentous  signs,  the  community  was  thrown  into  a 
fever  of  excitement  by  the  discharge  of  seven  guns  from  the 
Capitol  Square,  the  signal  for  the  assembling  of  all  the  re- 
serves ten  minutes  afterwards.  Hundreds  of  men  left  their 
beds,  hurrying  to  and  fro  towards  their  respective  locations. 
In  the  absence  of  sufficient  armories,  the  corners  of  the  streets, 
the  public  squares,  and  other  convenient  points  formed  places 
of  meeting.  All  night  long  the  roll  of  the  drum  and  tho 
steady  tramp  of  the  military  and  the  gallop  of  the  cavalry, 
resounding  through  the  city,  betokened  the  progress  of  pre- 
paration for  the  long-expected  hostilities.  The  Home  Guard 
corps  of  old  gentlemen,  who  occupied  the  position  of  military 
exempts,  rode  through  the  city,  arousing  the  soldiers  and 
doing  other  duty  required  at  the  moment.  Hundreds  of  the 
citizens  were  up  all  night.  A  terrible  thunder-storm  prevailed 
until  a  late  hour,  but  in  nowise  interfered  with  the  ardour  of 
the  soldiers. 

On  the  12th  day  of  April,  at  half-past  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  fire  was  opened  upon  Fort  Sumter.  The  firing  was 
deliberate,  and  was  continued,  without  interruption,  for  twelve 
hours.  The  iron  battery  at  Cumming's  Point  did  the  most 
effective  service,  perceptibly  injuring  the  walls  of  the  fortifica- 
tion, while  the  floating  battery  dismounted  two  of  the  parapet 
guns.  The  shell  batteries  were  served  with  skill  and  effect, 
shells  being  thrown  into  the  fort  every  twenty  minutes.  The 
5 


66  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

fort  had  replied  steadily  during  the  day.  About  dark,  its  fire 
fell  off,  while  ours  was  continued  at  intervals  during  the  night. 
The  contest  had  been  watched  during  the  day  by  excited  and 
anxious  citizens  from  every  available  point  of  observation  in 
Charleston — the  battery,  the  shipping  in  the  harbour,  and  the 
steeples  of  churches — and,  as  night  closed,  the  illuminations 
of  the  shells,  as  they  coursed  the  air,  added  a  strange  sublimity 
to  the  scene  to  men  who  had  never  before  witnessed  the  fiery 
splendours  of  a  bombardment.  The  next  morning,  at  seven 
o'clock,  the -fort  resumed  its  fire,  doing  no  damage  of  conse- 
quence. A  short  while  thereafter,  the  fort  was  discovered  to 
be  on  fire,  and  through  the  smoke  and  glare,  its  flag  was  dis- 
covered at  half  mast,  as  a  signal  of  distress.  The  Federal 
fleet,  which  was  off  the  bar,  contrary  to  all  expectations,  re- 
mained quietly  where  it  was ;  they  did  not  remove  from  their 
anchorage  or  fire  a  gun.  In  the  meantime,  the  conflagration, 
which  had  seized  upon  the  officers'  quarters  and  barracks  at  the 
fort,  continued;  it  no  longer  responded  to  our  fire,  which  was 
kept  up  for  an  anxious  look-out  for  tokens  of  surrender ;  its 
garrison,  black  and  begrimmed  with- smoke,  were  employed  in 
efforts  to  extinguish  the  conflagration,  and  in  some  instances 
had  to  keep  themselves  lying  upon  their  faces  to  avoid  death 
from  suffocation.  During  the  height  of  the  conflagration,  a 
boat  was  dispatched  by  General  Beauregard  to  Major  Ander- 
son, with  offers  of  assistance  in  extinguishing  the  fire.  Before 
it  could  reach  the  fort,  the  long  expected  flag  of  truce  had 
been  hoisted  ;  and  the  welcome  event  was  instantly  announced 
in  every  part  of  the  city  by  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  pealing  of 
cannon,  the  shouts  of  couriers  dashing  through  the  streets,  and 
by  every  indication  of  general  rejoicing.  Major  Anderson 
agreed  to  an  unconditional  surrender,  as  demanded  of  him ;  he 
received  of  his  enemy  in  return,  the  most  distinguished  marks 
of  lenity  and  consideration  ;  his  sword  was  returned-to  him  by 
General  Beauregard,  himself  and  garrison  allowed  to  take  pas- 
sage, at  their  convenience,  for  New  York,  and,  on  leaving  the 
fort,  he  was  permitted  to  salute  his  flag  with  fifty  guns,  the  per- 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  67 

formance  of  which  was  attended  with  the  melancholy  occurrence 
of  mortal  injuries  to  four  of  his  men,  by  the  bursting  of  two 
cannon.     There  was  no  other  life  lost  in  the  whole  affair. 

Thus  ended  the  bombardment  of  Sumter.  It  had  continued 
during  two  days  ;  it  is  estimated  that  two  thousand  shots 
had  been  fired  in  all ;  a  frowning  fortification  had  been  reduced 
to  a  blackened  mass  of  ruins;  and  yet  not  a  life  had  been  lost, 
or  a  limb  injured  in  the  engagement. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  when  it  was  received 
in  Washington,  did  not  disturb  President  Lincoln.  He  received 
it  with  remarkable  calmness.  The  usual  drawing-room  enter- 
tainment at  the  White  House  was  not  intermitted  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  day  of  the  commencement  of  civil  war.  The  same 
evening  the  President  turned  to  a  Western  Senator  and  asked, 
"  will  your  State  sustain  me  with  military  power?"  He  made 
no  other  comment  on  the  news,  which  was  agitating  every  part 
of  the  country  to  its  foundation. 

The  fa*ct  was,  that  the  President  haed  long  ago  calculated  the 
result  and  the  effect,  on  the  country,  of  the  hostile  movements 
which  he  had  directed  against  the  sovereignty  of  South  Caro- 
lina. He  had  procured -the  battle  of  Sumter;  he  had  no  desire 
or  hope  to  retain  the  /ort ;  the  circumstances  of  the  battle  and 
the  non-participation  of  his  fleet  in  it,  were  sufficient  evidences 
to  every  honest  and  reflecting  mind,  that  it  was  not  a  contest 
for  victory,  and  that  "  the  sending  provisions  to  a  starving 
garrison"  was  an  inge'nious  artifice  to  commence  the  war  that 
the  Federal  Government  had  fully  resolved  upon,  under  the 
specious  but  shallow  appearance  of  that  government  being  in- 
volved, by  the  force  of  circumstances,  rather  than  by  its  own 
volition,  in  the  terrible  consequence  of  civil  war. 

On  the  14th  day  of  April,  Mr.  Lincoln  published  his  pro- 
clamation of  war.  He  acj;ed  to  the  last  in  a  sinister  spirit. 
He  had  just  assured  the  commissioners  from  Virginia,  who  had 
been  deputed  to  ascertain  the  purposes  of  his  government,  that 
he  would  modify  his  inaugural  only  so  far  as  to  "  perhaps  cause 
the  United  States  mails  to  be  withdrawn"  from  the  seceded 


68  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE,  WAR. 

States.     The  following  proclamation  was  the  "modification" 
of  the  inaugural : 

"Whereas  the  laws  of  the  United  States  have  been  for  some  time  past,  and 

now  are,  opposed,  and  the  execution  thereof  obstructed  in  the  States  of  South 

Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,   Louisiana  and   Texas,  by 

,  combinations  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial 

proceeding,  or  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  marshals  by  law — 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  have 
thought  fit  to  call  forth,  and  hereby  do  call  forth  the  militia  of  the  several 
States  of  the  Union,  to  the  aggregate  number  of  seventy-five  thousand,  in 
order  to  suppress  said  combinations,  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be  duly  exe- 
cuted. The  details  for  this  object  will  be  immediately  communicated  to  the 
State  authorities  through  the  War  Department. 

"  I  appeal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favour,  facilitate  and  aid  this  effort  to 
maintain  the  honour,  the  integrity  and  the  existence  of  our  National  Union,'- 
and  the  perpetuity  of  popular  government,  and  to  redress  wrongs  already 
long  enough  endured. 

"  I  deem  it  proper  to  say  that  the  first  service  assigned  to  the  forces  hereby 
called  forth,  will  probably  be  to  re-possess  the  forts,  planes  and  property 
which  have  been  seized  from  the  Union;  and  in  every  event  the  utmost  care 
will  be  observed,  consistently  with  the  objects  aforesaid,  to  avoid  any  devas- 
tation and  destruction  of,  or  interference  with  property,  or  any  disturbance* 
of  peaceful  citizens  in  any  part  of  the  country.  And  I  hereby  command  the 
persons  composing  the  combinations  aforesaid,  to  disperse  and  retire  peace- 
ably to  their  respective  abodes  within  twenty  days  from  this  date. 

*  *  *  •  *  *  *  *  *  * 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

The  trick  of  the  government,  to  which  we  have  referred,  in 
its  procurement  of  the  battle  of  Sumter,  is  too  dishonest  and 
shallow  to  account  for  the  immense  reaction  of  sentiment  in  the 
North  that  ensued.  That  reaction  is  certainly  to  be  attributed 
to  causes  more  intelligent  and  permanent  than  the  weak  fallacy 
that  the  Lincoln  government  was  not'  responsible  for  the  hos- 
tilities in  Charleston  harbour,  and  that  the  South  itself  had 
dragged  the  government  and  people  of  Abraham  Lincoln  un- 
willingly into  the  inauguration  of  war.  The  problem  of  this 
reaction  may  be  more  justly  solved.  In  fact,  it  involved  no 
new  fact  or  principle.  The  Northern  people,  including  all  par- 
ties, secretly  appreciated  the  value  of  the  Union  to  themselves; 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  69 

they  knew  that  they  would  be  ruined  by  a  permanent  secession 
of  the  Southern  States ;  many  of  them  had  sought  to  bring 
the  dissatisfied  States  back  into  the  Union  by  the  old  resource 
of  artful  speeches  and  fine  promises;  and  finding,  at  last,  that 
the  South  was  in  earnest,  and  was  no  longer  to  be  seduced  by 
cheap  professions,  they  quickly  and  sharply  determined  to  co- 
erce what  they  could  not  cozen.  This  is  the  whole  explanation 
of  the  wonderful  reaction.  The  North  discovered,  by  the  fiery 
denouement  in  Charleston  harbour,  that  the  South  was  in  ear- 
nest, and  itself  became  as  instantly  in  earnest.  The  sudden 
display  of  Northern  rancour  was  no  reaction  ;  it  was  no  new 
fact ;  it  revealed  what  was  already  historical,  and  had  been 
concealed  only  for  purposes  of  policy — the  distinct  and  sharp 
antipathy  between  the  two  sections,  of  which  war  or  separa- 
tion, at  some  time,  was  bound  to  be  the  logical  conclusion. 

The  crusade  against  the  South  involved  all  parties,  and 
united  every  interest  in  the  North  by  the  common  bond  of  at- 
tachment to  the  Union.  That  attachment  had  its  own  reasons. 
The  idea  of  the  restoration  of  the  Union  was  conceived  in  no 
"historical  enthusiasm  for  restoring  past  glories ;  it  was  ani- 
mated by  no  patriotic  desires  contemplating  the  good  of  the 
whole  country ;  the  South  was  to  be  "  whipped  back  into  the 
Union,"  to  gratify  either  the  selfishness  of  the  North,  or  its 
worse  lusts  of  revenge  and  fanaticism.  The  holiness  of  the 
crusade  against  the  South  was  preached  alike  from  the  hustings 
and  the  pulpit.  The  Northern  Democratic  party,  which  had 
so  long  professed  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  even  sympathy  with  the  first  movements  of  their  secession, 
rivalled  the  Abolitionists  in  their  expressions  of  fury  and  re- 
venge ;  their  leaders  followed  the  tide  of  public  opinion ;  Mr. 
Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  who  some  months  before 
had  declared  in  a  public  speech  that  if  the  seceded  States  were 
"determined  to  separate,  we  had  better  part  in  peace,"  became 
a  rhetorical  advocate  of  the  war ;  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  of 
New  York,  rivalled  the  Abolition  leaders  in  his  State  in  in- 
flaming the  public  mind;  and  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 


70  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.      . 

but  a  few  months  before  it  had  been  said  that  the  Southern 
Confederacy  ■would  be  able  to  recruit  several  regiments  for  "its 
military  service,  demagogues  in  the  ranks  of  the  "National 
Democracy,"  such  as  John  Cochrane,  harangued  the  multi- 
tude, advising  them  to  "crush  the  rebellion,"  and,  if  need  be, 
to  drown  the  whole  South  in  one  indiscriminate  sea  of  blood. 
Old  contentions  and  present  animosities  were  forgotten ;  De- 
mocrats associated  with  recreants  and  fanatics  in  one  grand 
league  for  one  grand  purpose  ;  foreigners  from  Europe  were 
induced  into  the  belief  that  they  were  called  upon  to  fight  for 
the  "  liberty"  for  which  they  had  crossed  the  ocean,  or  for  the 
"free  homesteads"  which  were  to  be  the  rewards  of  the  war; 
and  all  conceivable  and  reckless  artifices  were  resorted  to  to  swell 
the  tide  of  numbers  against  the  South.  New  England,  which 
had  been  too  conscientious  to  defend  the  national  honour  in  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  poured  out  almost  her  whole  popula- 
tion to  aid  in  the  extermination  of  a  people  who  had  given  to 
the  nation  all  the  military  glory  it  had  achieved.* 


*  In  the  war  of  1812,  the  North  furnished  58,552  soldiers;  the  South, 
96,812 — making  a  majority  of  37,030  in  favour  of  the  South.  Of  the  number 
furnished  by  the  North — 

Massachusetts  furnished ; 3,110 

New  Hampshire      " 897 

Connecticut             "         387 

Rhode  Island           "         637 

Vermont                  "         181 

5,162 
While  the  little  State  of  South  Carolina  furnished  5,696.  . 

In  the  Mexican  war,  » 

Massachusetts  furnished 1,047 

New  Hampshire       "         1 

The  other  New  England  States 0,000 

1,048 

The  whole  number  of  troops  contributed  by  the  North  to  the  Mexican  war 
was  23,054;  while  the  South  contributed  43,630,  very  nearly  double,  and,  in 
proportion  to  her  population,  four  times  as  many  soldiers  as  the  North. 
When  a  resolution  was  introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  71 

The  effect  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation  at  the  South  was 
HO  less  decisive  than  at  the  North.  It  remains  a  problem, 
which  facts  were  neve/  permitted  to  decide,  but  the  solution  of 
which  may  at  least  be  approached  by  the  logical  considerations 
of  history,  to  what  extent  the  Border  Slave  States  might  have 
been  secured  to  the  Union  by  the  policy  of  peace,  and  the 
simple  energy  of  patience  on  the  part  of  the  government  at 
Washington.  As  it  was,  the  proclamation  presented  a  new 
issue  ;  it  superseded  that  of  the  simple  policy  of  secession ; 
and  it  inaugurated  the  second  seeessionary  movement  of  the 
Southern  States  on  a  basis  infinitely  higher  and  firmer,  in  all 
its  moral  and  constitutional  aspects  than  that  of  the  first  move- 
ment of  the  Cotton  States. 

The  proclamation  was  received  at  Montgomery  with  derisive 
laughter ;  the  newspapers  were  refreshed  with  the  Lincolniana 
of  styling  sovereign  States  "unlawful  combinations,"  and 
warning  a  people  standing  on  their  own  soil  to  return  within 
twenty  days  to  their  "homes;"  and,  in  Virginia,  the  seces- 
sionists were  hugely  delighted  at  the  strength  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  unwittingly  or  perversely  contributed  to  their  cause.     One 

tendering  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  heroic  Lawrence  for  Ws  capture  of  the  Pea- 
cock, that  pious  State  refused  to  adopt  it,  and  declared — 

"That  in  a  war  like  the  present,  waged  without  justifiable  cause,  and  pro- 
secuted in  a  manner  indicating  that  conquest  and  ambition  ar£  its  real  motives, 
it  is  not  becoming  a  moral  and  religious  people  to  express  any  approbatiou 
of  military  and  naval  exploits  not  directly  connected  with  the  defence  of  our 
Beacoast  and  our  soil." 

Subsequently,  the  famous  Hartford  Convention  was  called.  It  assembled 
in  the  city  of  Hartford,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1814,  and  remained  in  ses- 
sion twenty  days.  It  made  a  report  accompanied  by  a  series  of  resolutions. 
The  following  is  a  part  of  the  report,  as  adopted: 

'•  In  cases  of  deliberate,  dangerous  and  palpable  infractions  of  the  Consti- 
tutypn,  affecting  the  sovereignty  of  a  State  and  the  liberties  of  the  people,  it 
is  not  only  the  right,  but  the  duty,  of  each  Stale  to  interpose  its  authority  for  their 
protection  in  the  manner  licsl  calculated  to  secure  that  end.  When  emergencies 
occur  which  are  either  beyond  the  reach  of  judicial  tribunals,  or  too  pressing 
to  admit  of  the  delay  incident  to  their  forms,  States,  which  have  no  common 
umpire,  must  be  their  mm  judges  and  execute  their  own  decisions." 

This  is  the  doctrine  which  the  South  had  always  held  from  the  beginning, 
and  for  which  the  South  was  now  pouring  out  her  blood  and  treasure. 


72  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

after  the  other  of  the  Border  States  refused  the  demands  for 
their  quotas  in  terms  of  scorn^and  defiance.  Governor  Rector, 
of  Arkansas,  repudiated  the  proclamation  with  an  expression 
of  concentrated  defiance :  Governor  Magoffin,  of  Kentucky, 
replied,  that  that  State  would  "  furnish  no  troops  for  the 
wicked  purpose  of  subduing  her  sister  Southern  States;" 
Governor  Ellis,  of  North  Carolina,  telegraphed  to  Washing- 
ton, "  I  can  be  no  party  to  this  wicked  violation  of  the  laws  of 
this  country,  and  especially  to  this  war  which  is  being  waged 
upon  a  free  and  "independent  people;"  Governor  Jackson,  of 
Missouri,  replied  directly  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  Your  requisition, 
in  my  'judgment  is  illegal,  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary, 
and,  in  its  objects,  inhuman  and  diabolical;"  and  even  the 
unspirited  Governor  of  Virginia,  John  Letcher,  constrained  by 
the  policy  of  th'e  time-server  to  reflect  the  changes  which  had 
become  apparent  to  him  in  the  uprising  indignation,  of  the 
people,  ventured  upon  a  remonstrance  to  President  "Lincoln, 
reminding  him  that  his  proclamation  was  "not  within  the 
purview  of  the  Constitution  or  the  act  of  1795."  The  only 
Southern  Governor  that  signified  any  degree  of  submission  to 
the  proclamation  was  the  notorious  Thomas  Holladay  Hicks, 
of  Maryland ;  he  gave  verbal  assurances  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that 
that  State  would  supply  her  quota  and  give  him  military  sup- 
port; but,  at  the  same  time,  with  an  art  and  effrontery  that 
only  a  demagogue  could  attain,  he  published  a  proclamation  to 
the  people  of  Maryland,  assuring  them  of  his  neutrality,  an.d 
promising  that  an  opportunity  would  be  given  them,  in  the 
election  of  Congressmen,  to  determine,  .of  their  own  free  will, 
whether  they  would  sustain  the  old  Union,  or  assist  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 

On  the  17th  day  of  April,  the  Virginia  Convention  passed 
an  ordinance  of  secession.  It  was  an  important  era  in  the 
history  of  the  times.  It  gave  the  eighth  State  to  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  The  position  of  Virginia  was  a  commanding 
one  with  the  other  Border  States ;  she  started,  by  her  act  of 
secession,  the  second  important  movement  of  the  revolution; 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   TIIE   WAR.  73 

and  she  added  to  the  moral  influence  of  the  event  by  the  fact, 
that  she  had  not  seceded  on  an  issue  of  policy,  but  on  one  of 
distinct  and  practical  constitutional  right,  and  that  too  in  the 
face  of  a  war,  which  had  become  absolutely  inevitable  and  was 
frowning  upon  her  own  borders. 

Virginia  had  been  chided  for  her  delay  in  following  the 
Cotton  States  out  of  the  Union,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  when 
she  did  secede,  she  was  charged  by  the  Northern  politicians 
with  being  inconsistent  and  having  kept  bad  faith  in  her  rela- 
tions with  the  Federal  Government.  Both  complaints  were 
equally  without  foundation.  The  record  of  the  State  was 
singularly  explicit  and  clear. 

The  Virginia  Resolutions  of  '08  and  '99  had  for  sixty  years 
constituted  the  text-book  of  the  State  Rights  politicians  of  the 
South.  The  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty  was  therein  vindi- 
cated and  maintained,  and  the  right  and  duty  of  States,  suf- 
fering grievances  from  unjust  and  unconstitutional  Federal 
legislation,  to  judge  of  the  wrongs,  as  well  as  of  "  the  mode 
and  measure  of  redress,"  were  made  clear.  The  Virginia 
platform,  as  thus  laid  down  in  the  elder  Adams'  time,  was 
adopted  by  the  "Strict  Constructionist"  party  of  that  day, 
and  has  been  re-asserted  ever  since.  Mr.  Jefferson,  the 
founder  ofathe  Democratic  party  in  this  country,  was  elected 
upon  this  platform,  and  his  State  Rights  successors  all  ac- 
knowledged its  orthodoxy.  Whenever  there  arose  a  conflict 
between  Federal  and  State  authority,  the  voice  of  Virginia 
was  the  first  to  be  heard  in  behalf  of  State  Rights.  In 
1832-33,  when  the  Tariff  and  Nullification  controversy  arose, 
Virginia,  though  not  agreeing  with  South  Carolina  as  to  the 
particular  remedy  to  which  she  resorted,  yet  assured  that 
gallant  State  of  her  sympathy,  and,  at  the  same  time,  re- 
asserted her  old  doctrines  of  State  Rights.  Her  gallant  and 
patriotic  Governor,  John  Floyd,  the  elder,  declared  that  Fede- 
ral troops  should  not  pass  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  to  coerce 
South  Carolina  into  obedience  to  the  tariff  laws,  unless  over 
his   dead   body.     Her   Legislature   was   almost    unanimously 


74  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

opposed  to  the  coercion  policy,  and  a  majority  of  that  body 
indicated  their  recognition  of  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede 
from  thevUniOn.  The  voice  of  Virginia  was  potential  in  set- 
tling this  controversy  upon  conditions  to  which  the  Palmetto 
State  could  agree  with  both  honour  and  consistency.  At 
every  stage  of  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in  Con- 
gress and  in  the  Northern  States,  Virginia  declared  her  senti- 
ments and  her  purposes  in  a  manner  not  to  be  misunderstood 
by  friend  or  foe.  Again  and  again  did  she  enter  upon  her 
legislative  records,  in  ineffable  characters,  the  declaration  that 
she  would  resist  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the  Northern  majority 
even,  to  the  disruption  of  the  ties  that  bound  her  to  the 
Union. 

With  almost  entire  unanimity,  Virginia  had  resolved  in 
legislative  council,  in  1848,  that  she  would  not  submit  to  the 
passage  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  or  any  kindred  measure. 
From  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Anti-Slavery  party, 
her  people,  of  all  parties,  had  declared  that  the  election  of  an 
Abolitionist  to  the  Presidency  would  be  a  virtual  declaration  of 
war  against  the  South  on  the  part  of  the  North,  and  that  Vir- 
ginia and  every  other  slave  State  ought  to  resist  it  as  such. 
The  Legislature  that  assembled  a  few  weeks  after  Lincoln's 
election  declared  in  effect,  with  only  four  dissenting  voices, 
that  the  interests  of  Virginia  were  thoroughly  identified  with 
those  of  the  other  Southern  States,  and  that  any  intimation, 
from  any  source,  that  her  people  were  looking  to  any  com- 
bination in  the  last  resort  other  than  union  with  them,  was 
unpatriotic  and  treasonable. 

The  sovereign  Convention  of  Virginia,  elected  on  the  4th  of 
February,  1861,  for  a  long  time  lingered  in  the  hope  that  the 
breach  that  had  taken  place  in  the  Union  might  be  repaired 
by  new  constitutional  guaranties.  Nevertheless,  that  body, 
before  it  had  yet  determined  to  pass  an  ordnance  of  seces- 
sion— while  it  was,  in  fact,  hopeful  that  the  Union  would  be 
saved  through  the  returning  sanity  of  the  Northern  people — 
adopted  unanimously  the  following  resolution  : 


THE   FIRST   YEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  75 

"  The  people  of  Virginia  recognize  the  American  principle,  that  govern- 
ment is  founded  in  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  the  right  of  the  people 
of  the  several  States  of  this  Union,  for  just  cause,  to  withdraw  from  their 
association  under  the  Federal  Government,  with  the  people  of  the  other 
States  and  to  erect  new  governments  for  their  better  security;  and  they 
never  will  consent  that  the  Federal  power,  which  is,  in  part,  their  power, 
shall  be  exerted  for  the  purpose  of  subjugating  the  people  of  such  States  to 
the  Federal  authority." 

The  entire  antecedents  of  Virginia  were  known  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  his  cabinet.  They  knew  that  she  was  solemnly 
pledged,  at  whatever  cost,  to  separate  from  the  Union  in  the 
very  contingency  they  had  brought  about — namely,  the  at- 
tempt to  subjugate  her  sister  States  of  the  South.  They 
knew  that  the  original  "Union  men,"  as  well  as  the  original 
secessionists,  were  committed  beyond  the  possibility  of  re- 
cantation to  resistance  to  the  death  of  any  and  every  coercive 
measure  of  the  Federal  Government.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  his  advisers  had  the  temerity  to  make  a  call  upon  the 
State  of  Virginia  to  furnish  her  quota  of  seventy-five  thousand 
men  to  subjugate  the  seceded  States.  They  had  but  little 
right  to  be  surprised  at  the  course  taken  by  the  State,  and 
still  less  to  charge  it  with  inconsistency  or  perfidy. 

It  was  expected  that  Maryland  might  follow  the  heroic 
course  of  Virginia,  and  but  two  days  after  the  secession  of  the 
latter  State,  there  were  indications  in  Maryland  of  a  spirit  of 
emulation  of  the  daring  and  adventurous  deeds  that  had  been 
'enacted  South  of  the  Potomac.  On  the  19th  of  April  the 
passage  of  Northern  volunteers,  on  their  way  to  Washington, 
was  intercepted  and  assailed  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  and 
for  more  than  two  weeks  the  route  through  that  city  was  effect- 
ually closed  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  mercenaries.  The  Baltimore 
"  riot,"  as  it  was  called,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  col- 
lisions of  the  times.  A  number  of  Massachusetts  volunteers, 
passing  through  Baltimore  in  horse  cars,  found  the  track  bar- 
ricaded near  one  of  the  docks  by  stones,  sand  and  old  anchors 
thrown  upon  it,  and  were  compelled  to  attempt  the  passage 
to  the  depot,  at  the  other  end  of  the  city,  on  foot.     They  had 


76  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

not  advanced  fifteen  "paces  after  leaving  the  cars  -when  they 
found  their  passage  blocked  by  a  crowd  of  excited  citizens, 
■who  taunted  thetn  as  mercenaries,  and  flouted  a  Southern 
flag  at  the  head  of  their  column.  Stones  were  thrown  by  a 
portion  of  the  crowd,  when  the  troops  presented  arms*  and 
fired.  The  crowd  was  converted  into  an  infuriated  mob;  the 
fire  was  returned  from  a  number  of  revolvers;  the  soldiers 
were  attacked  with  sticks,  stones,  and  every  conceivable 
weapon,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  their  muskets  were 
actually  wrung  from  their  hands  by  desperate  and  unarmed 
men.  Unable  to  withstand  the  gathering  crowd,  and  bewil- 
dered by  their  mode  of  attack,  the  troops  pressed  along  the 
street  confused  and  staggering,  breaking  intq  a  run  whenever 
there  was  an  opportunity  to  do  so,"  and  turning  at  intervals  to 
fire  upon  the  citizens  who  pursued  them.  As  they  reached  the 
depot  they  found  a  crowd  already  collected  there  and  gather- 
ing from  every  point  in  the  city.  The  other  troops  of  the 
Massachusetts  regiment  who  had  preceded  them  in  the  horse 
cars  had  been  pursued  by  the  people  along  the  route,  and  the 
soldiers  did  not  hesitate  to  stretch  themselves  at  full  length  on 
the  floors  of  the  cars,  to  avoid  the  missiles  thrown  through  the 
windows.  The  scene  that  ensued  at  the  depot  was  terrific. 
Taunts,  clothed  in  the  most  fearful  language,  were  hurled  at 
the  troops  by  the  panting  crowd  who,  almost  breathless  with 
running,  pressed  up  to  the  windows,  presenting  knives  and 
revolvers,  and  cursing  up  in  the  faces  of  the  soldiers.  A  wild* 
cry  was  raised  on  the  platform,  and  a  dense  crowd  rushed  out, 
spreading  itself, along  the  railroad  track,  until  for  a  mile  it  was 
black  with  the  excited,  rushing  mass.  The  crowd,  as  they 
went,  filled  the  track  with  obstructions  ;  the  police  who,  through-  • 
out  the  whole  affair,  had  contended  for  order  with  the  most 
devoted  courage,  followed  in  full  run,  removing  the  obstructions ; 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the  track  was  crowded  with  the 
pursuers  and  pursued,  a  struggling  and  shouting  mass  of  human 
beings.  In  the  midst  of  the' excitement  the  train  moved  off; 
and  as  it  passed  from  the  depot  a  dozen  muskets  were  fired  by 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  77 

the  soldiers  into  the  people  that  lined  the  track,  the  volley 
killing  an  estimable  citizen  who  had  been  drawn  to  the  spot 
only  as  a  spectator.  The  results  of  the  riot  were  serious 
enough ;  two  of  the  soldiers  were  shot ;  several  of  the  citizens 
had  been  killed,  and  more  than  twenty  variously  wounded. 

The  excitement  in  Baltimore  continued  fo»  weeks;  the 
bridges  on  the  railroad  to  the  Susquehanna  were  destroyed; 
the  regular  route  of  travel  broken  up,  and  some  twenty  or 
twenty-five  thousand  Northern  volunteers,  on  their  way  to 
Washington,  detained  at  Havre  de  Grace,  a  portion  of  them 
only  managing  to  reach  their  destination  by  the  way  of  Annap- 
olis. On  the  night  of  the  day  of  the  riot,  a  mass  meeting  was 
held  in  Monument  Square,  and  was  addressed  by  urgent  ap- 
peals for  the  secession  of  Maryland,  and  speeches  of  defiance 
to  the  Lincoln  Government.  Governor  Hicks,  alarmed  by  the 
display  of  public  sentiment,  affected  to  yield  to  it.  He  ad- 
dressed the  crowd  in  person,  condemning  the  coercive  policy 
of  the  government  and  ending  with  the  fervid  declaration,  "I 
will  suffer  my  right  arm  to  be  torn  from  my  body  before  1  will 
raise  it  to  strike  a  sister  State."  The  same  man,  in  less  than  a 
month  thereafter,  when  Maryland  had  fallen  within  the  grasp 
of  the  Federal  Government,  did  not  hesitate  to  make  a  call 
upon  the  people  for  four  regiments  of  volunteers  to  assist  that 
government  in  its  then  fully 'declared  policy,  of  a  war  of  inva- 
sion and  fell  destruction  upon  the  South. 
•  In  the  city  of  St.  Louis  there  were  collisions  between  the 
citizens  and  soldiery  as  well  as  in  Baltimore ;  but  in  Missouri 
the  indications  of  Sympathy  with  the  South  did  not  subside,  or 
allow  themselves  to  be  choked  by  spectral  fears  of  the  "  crucial 
experiment  of  secession  " — they  grew  and  strengthened  in  the 
face  of  all  the  Federal  power  could  do. 

The  riots  in  Maryland  and  Missouri  were  however  only  inci- 
dents in  the  history  of  the  period  in  which  they  occurred. 
That  history- is  occupied  with  far  more  important,  and  general 
events,  indicating  the  increased  and  rapid  preparations,  North 
and  South,  for  war;  the  collection  of  resources,  and  the  policy 


78  THE  FIRST    5TEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

and  spirit  in  which  the  gathering  contest  was  to  be  con- 
ducted. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had,  on  the  19th  of  April,  published  his  pro- 
clamation, declaring  the  ports  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  in 
a  state  of  blockade,  and  denouncing  any  molestation  of  Federal 
vessels  on  th«  high  seas  as  piracy.  The  Provisional  Congress 
at  Montgomery,  had  formerly  recognized  the  existence  of  war 
with  the  North,  and  letters  of  marque  had  been  issued  by  the 
Confederate  authority.  The  theatre  of  the  war  on  land  was 
indicated  in  Virginia.  General  Lee,  who  had  resigned  a  com- 
mission as  Colonel  of  Cavalry  in  the  old  United  States  army, 
was  put  in  command  of  all  the  Confederate  States  forces  in 
Virginia. 

That  State  was  the  particular  object  of  the  rancour  of  the 
government  at  Washington,  which  proceeded  to  inaugurate 
hostilities  on  her  territory  by  two  acts  of  ruthless  vandalism. 
On  the  19th  day  of  April  the  Federals  evacuated  Harper's 
Ferry,  after  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  buildings  and  machine 
shops  there,  which  only  partially  succeeded — the  armory  build- 
ings being  destroyed,  but  a  train  to  blow  up  the  machine 
shop  failed,  and  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  machinery  was 
uninjured.  On  the  succeeding  day,  preparations  were  made  for 
the  destruction  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Norfolk,  while  Federal 
reinforcements  were  thrown  into  Fortress  Monroe.  The  work 
of  vandalism  was  not  as  fully  completed  as  the  enemy  had  de- 
signed, the  dry-dock,  which  alone  cost  several  millions  of  dol- 
lars, being  but  little  damaged ;  but  the  destruction  of  property 
was  immense,  and  attended  by  a  terrible  conflagration,  which 
at  one  time  threatened  the  city  of  Norfolk. 

All  the  ships  in  the  harbour,  excepting  the  old  frigate,  the 
United  States,  were  set  fire  to  and  scuttled.  They  were  the 
Pennsylvania,  the  Columbus  and  Delaware,  the  steam  frigate 
Merrimac,  (she  was  only  partially  destroyed)  the  sloops,  Ger- 
mantown  and  Tlymouth,  the  frigates  Raritan  arid  Columbia, 
and  the  brig  Dolphin.  The  Germantown  was  lying  at  the 
wharf  under  a  large  pair  of  shears,  which  were  thrown  across 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  79 

her' decks  by  cutting  loose  the  guys.     The  ship  -was  nearly  cut 
in  two  and  sunk  at  the  wharf.     About  midnight  an  alarm  was 
given  that  the  Navy  Yard  was  on  fire.     A  sickly  blaze,  that 
seemed  neither  to  diminish  nor  increase,  continued  for  several 
hours.     Men  were  kept  busy  all  night  transferring  everything 
of  value  from  the  Pennsylvania  and  Navy  Yard  to  the  Pawnee 
and  Cumberland,  and  both  vessels  were  loaded  to  their  lower 
ports.     At  length  four   o'clock  came,  and  with  it  flood  tide. 
A  rocket  shot  up  from  the  Pawnee,  and  then,  almost  in  an 
instant,  the  whole  front  of  the  Navy  Yard  seemed  one  vast 
1  sheet  of  flame.      The  next  minute  streaks  of  flame  dashed 
along  the  rigging  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  other  doomed 
ships,  and  soon  they  were  completely  wrapped  in  the  devouring, 
element.     The  harbour  was  now  one  blaze  of  light.     The  re- 
motest   objects  were   distinctly  visible.      The    surging  flames 
leaped  and  roared  with    mad  violence,  making    their   hoarse 
wrath  heard  at  the  distance  of  several  miles.     The  people  of 
Hampton,  and  even  those  who  lived  beyond,  saw  the  red  light, 
and  thought  all  Norfolk  was  on  fire.     It  was  certainly  a  grand 
though  terrible  spectacle  to  witness.      In  the   midst  of  the 
brilliance  of  the  scene,  the  Pawnee,  with  the  Cumberland  in 
tow,  stole  like  a  guilty  thing  through  the  harbour,  fleeing  from 
the  destruction  they  had  been  sent  to  accomplish. 

The  Lincoln  Government  had  reason  to  be  exasperated  to- 
wards Virginia.  '  The  second  secessionary  movement,  com- 
menced by  that  State,  added  three  other  States  to  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  Tennessee  seceded  from  the  Union,  the  6th  of 
May ;  on  the  18th  day  of  May,  the  State  of  Arkansas  was 
formally  admitted  into  the  Southern  Confederacy;  and  on  the 
21st  of  the  same  month,  the  sovereign  Convention  of  North 
Carolina,  without  delay  and  by  a  unanimous  vote,  passed  an 
ordinance  of  secession. 

The  spirit  of  the  rival  governments^gave  indications  to  dis- 
cerning minds  of  a  civil  war  of  gigantic  proportions,  infinite 
consequences,  and  indefinite  duration.  In  every  portion  of  the 
South  the  most  patriotic  devotion  was  exhibited.     Transporta- 


80  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

tion  companies  freely  tendered  the  use  of  their  lines  for  trans- 
portation and  supplies.  The  presidents  of  the  Southern  rail- 
roads consented  not  only  to  reduce  their  rates  for  mail  service 
and  conveyance  for  troops  and  munitions  of  war,  but  volun- 
tarily proffered  to  take  their  compensation  in  bonds  of  the 
Confederacy,  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  all  the  resources  of 
the  government  at  its  disposal  for  the  common  defence.  Under 
the  act  of  the  Provisional  Congress  authorizing  a  loan,  pro- 
posals issued  for  the  subscription  of  five  millions  of  dollars 
■were  answered  by  the  prompt  subscription  of  more  than  eight 
millions  by  its  own  citizens ;  and  not  a  bid  was  made  under 
par.     Requisitions  for  troops  were  met  with  such  alacrity  that 

tthe  number,  in  every  instance,  tendering  their  services  ex- 
ceeded the  demand.  Under  the  bill  for  the  public  defence,  one 
hundred  thousand  volunteers  were  authorized  to  be  accepted 
by  the  Confederate  States  Government  for  a  twelve  months' 
term  of  service.  The  gravity  of  age  and  the  zeal  of  youth 
rivalled  each  other  to  be  foremost  in  the  public  service;  every 
village  bristled  with  bayonets ;  large  forces  were  put  in  the 
field  at  Charleston,  Pensacola,  Forts  Morgan,  Jackson,  St. 
Philip  and  Pulaski ;  while  formidable  numbers  from  all  parts 
of  the  Confederacy  were  gathered  in  Virginia,  on  what  was 
now  becoming  the  immediate  theatre  of  the  war.  On  the  20th 
day  of  May,  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  from  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama,  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  President  Davis 
was  welcomed  in  the  latter  city  with  a  burst  of  genuine  joy 
and  enthusiasm,  to  which  none  of  the  military  pageants  of  the 
North  could  furnish  a  parallel. 

It  had  been  supposed  that  the  Southern  people,  poor  in  man- 
ufactures as  they  were,  and  in  the  haste  of  preparation  for  the 
mighty  contest  that  wras  to  ensue,  would  find  themselves  but 
illy  provided  with  arms  to  contend  with  an  enemy  rich  in  the 
means  and  munitions  qf  war.  This  disadvantage  had  been 
provided  against  by  the  timely  act  of  one  man.  Mr.  Floyd, 
of  Virginia,  when  Secretary  of  War  under  Mr.  Buchanan's 

.  administration,  had  by  a  single  order  effected  the  transfer  of 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  81 

115,000  improved  muskets  and  rifles  from  the  Springfield 
armory  and  Watervliet  arsenal  to  different  arsenals  at  the 
South.  Adding  to  these  the  number  of  arms  distributed  by 
the  Federal  government  to  the  States  in  the  preceding  years 
of  our  history,  and  those  purchased  by  the  States  and  citizens, 
it  was  safely  estimated  that  the  South  entered  upon  the  war 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  small  arms  of  the  most 
approved  modern  pattern  and  the  best  in  the  world. 

The  government  at  Washington  rapidly  collected  in  that  city 
a  vast  and  motley  army.  Baltimore  had  been  subdued  ;  the 
route  through  it  was  restored ;  and  such  were  the  facilities  of 
Northern  transportation,  that  it  was  estimated  that  not  less 
than  four  or  five  thousand  volunteers  were  transported  through 
the  former  Thermopylae  of  Baltimore  in  a  single  day.  The 
first  evidences  of  the  despotic  purposes'of  the  Lincoln  govern- 
ment were  exhibited  in  Maryland,  and  the  characteristics  of 
the  war  that  it  had  commenced  on  the  South  were  firsX  dis- 
played in  the  crushing  weight  of  tyranny  and  oppression  it 
laid  upon  a  State  which  submitted  before  it  was  conquered. 

The  Legislature  of  Maryland  did  nothing  practical.  It  was 
unable  to  arm  the  State,  and  it  made  no  attempt  to  improve 
the  spirit  of  the  people,  or  to  make  preparations  for  any  future 
opportunity  of  action.  It  assented  to  the  attitude  of  submis- 
sion indefinitely.  It  passed  resolutions  protesting  against  the 
military  occupation  of  the  State  by  the  Federal  government, 
and  indicating  sympathy  with  the  South,  but  concluding  with 
the  declaration:  "under  existing  circumstances,  it  is  inexpe- 
dient to  call  a  sovereign  Convention  of  the  State  at  this  time, 
or  take  any  measures  for  the  immediate  organization  or  arming 
of  the  militia."  The  government  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  not 
a  government  to  spare  submission  or  to  be  moved  to  magna- 
nimity by  the  helplessness  of  a  supposed  enemy.  The  submis- 
sion of  Maryland  was  the  signal  for  its  persecution.  By  the 
middle  of  May,  her  territory  was  occupied  by  thirty  thousand 
Federal  troops  ;  her  quota  of  troops  to  the  war  was  demanded 
at  Washington,  and  was  urged  by  a  requisition  of  her  obsequi- 
6 


82  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

•  • 

ous  Governor;  the  city  of  Baltimore4was  invested  by  General 
Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  houses  and  stores  searched  for  con- 
cealed arms,  and  the  liberties  of  the  people  violated,  with  every 
possible  addition  of  mortification  and  insult. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  rapid  and  aggravated  progression  of  acts 
of  despotism  on  the  part  of  the  Lincoln  Government  reached 
its  height  in  Maryland.  The  authority  of  the  mayor  and 
police 'board  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  was  superseded,  and  their 
persons  seized  and  imprisoned  in  a  military  fortress ;  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  was  suspended  by  the  single  and  unconstitu- 
tional authority  of  the  President ;  the  houses  of  suspected 
citizens  were  searched,  and  they  themselves  arrested  by  mili- 
tary force,  in  jurisdictions  where  the  Federal  courts  were  in 
uninterrupted  operation  ;  blank  warrants  were  issued  for  domi- 
ciliary visits;  and  the  sanctity  of  private  correspondence  was 
violated  by  seizing  the  dispatches  preserved  for  years  in  the 
telegraphic  offices  of  the  North,  and  making  them  the  subject 
of  inquisition  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  and  punishing  as 
traitors  men  who  had  dared  to  reproach  the  Northern  Govern- 
ment for  an  unnatural  war,  or  had  not  sympathized  with  its 
rancour  and  excesses. 

Such  was  the  inauguration  of  "the  strong  government"  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  in  Maryland,  and  the  repetition  of  its  acts 
was  threatened  upon  the  "rebel"  States  of  the  South,  with 
the  addition  that  their  cities  were  to  be  laid  in  ashes,  their  soil 
sown  with  blood,  their  slaves  freed  and  carried  in  battalions 
against  their  masters,  and  "  the  rebels  "  doomed,  after  their 
subjection,  to  return  home  to  find  their  wives  and  children  in 
rags  and  gaunt  Famine  sitting  at  their  fire-sides. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  83 


CHAPTER  III. 

• 

Confidence  of  the  North. ..Characteristic  Coast?..."  Crushing  out  the  Re- 
bellion"....Volunteering  in  the  Northern  Cities.. ..The  New  York  "  Invinci- 
bles"... Misrepresentations  of  the  Government  at  Washington. ..Mr.  Seward's 
Letter  to  the  French  Government.'.. Another  call  for  Federal  Volunteers... 
Opening  movements  of  the  Campaign. ..The  Federal  occupation  of  Alexan- 
dria...Death  of  Col.  Ellsworth. ..Fortress  Monroe. .Jlhe  Rattle  ok  Bethel... 
Results  of  this  Battle. ..Geneial  Jtoseph  E.  Johnston. ..The  Upper  Potomac... 
Evacuation  and  Destruction  of  Harper's  Ferry. ..The  Movements  in  the  Upper 
Fortion  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia. ..Northwestern  Virginia...  The  Battle  of 
Rich  Mountain. ..Carrock'e  Ford. ..The  Retreat  of  the  Confederates. ..General 
McClellan...MeetiTig  of  the  Federal  Congress. ..Mr.  Lincoln's  Message... Ken- 
tucky....Western  Virginia. ...Large  requisitions  for  Men  and  Money  by  the 
Federal  Government. ...Its  Financial  Condition... .Financial  Measures  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy. ...Contrast  between  the  Ideas  of  the  Rival  Govern- 
ments...Conservatism  of  the  Southern  Revolution... Despotic  excesses  of  the 
Government  at  Washington. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  boastful  and  unlimited  expressions 
of*onfidencc,  on  the  part  of  the  Northern  people,  in  the  speedy 
u  crushing  out  of  the  rebellion,"  and  of  contempt  for  the  means 
and  resources  of  the  South  to  carry  on  anything  like  a  formi- 
dable waV.  In  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  these  expressions 
and  vaunts  give  a  grotesque  illustration  of  the  ideas  with  which 
the  Northern  people  entered  upon  the  war. 

The  New  York  papers  derided  the  rebellion.  The  Tribune 
declared  that  it  was  nothing  "  more  or  less  than  the  natural 
recourse  of  all  mean-spirited  and  defeated  tyrannies  to  rule  or 
ruin,  making,  of  course,  a  wide  distinction  between  the  will 
and  power,  for  the  hanging  of  traitors  is  sure  to  begin  before 
one  month  is  over."  "The  nations  of  Europe,"  it  continued, 
"  may  rest  assured  that  Jeff.  Davis  &  Co.  will  be  swinging 
from  the  battlements  at  Washington,  at  least,  by  the  4th  of 
July.     We  spit  upon  a  later  and' longer  deferred  justice." 

The  New  York  Times  gave  its  opinion  in  the  following 
vigorous   and  confident   spirit :    "  Let  us  make    quick  work. 


84  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  'rebellion,'  as  some'people  designate  it,  is  an  unborn  tad- 
pole. Let  us  not  fall  into  the  delusion,  noted  by  Hallam,  of 
mistaking  a  '  local  commotion '  for  a  revolution.  A  strong, 
active  'pull  together'  will  do  our  work,  effectually^  in  thirty 
days.  We  have  only  to  send  a  column  of  25,000  men  across 
the  Potomac  to  Richmond,  and  burn  out  the  rats  there ;  an- 
other column  of  25,000  to  Cairo,  seizing  the  cotton  ports  .of  the 
Mississippi;  and  retaining  the  remaining  25,000,  included  in 
Mr.  Lincoln's  call  for  75,000  men,  at  Washington,  not  because 
there  is  need  for  them  there,  but  because  we  do  not  require 
their  services  elsewhere.'' 

The  Philadelphia  Press  declared  that  "no  man  of  sense 
could,  for  a  moment,  doubt  that  this  much  ado-about-nothing 
would  end  in  a  month."  The  Northern  people  were  "simply 
invincible."  "The  rebels,"  it  prophesied,  "a  mere  band  of 
ragamuffins,  will  fly,  like  chaff  before  the  wind,  on  our  ap- 
proach." 

The  West  was  as  violent  as  the  North  or  the  East.  In  the 
States  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  among  the  infidel  Dutch,  no 
rein  was  drawn  upon  the  wild  fanaticism.  In  Illinois,  rt>o, 
there  was  a  fever  of  morbid  violence.  The  Chicago  Tribune 
insisted  on  its  demand  tfiat  the  West  be  allowed  to  fight  the 
battle  through,  since  she  was  probably  the  most  interested  in 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi.  "Let  the  East,"  demanded  this  valorous  sheet, 
"  get  out  of  the  way ;  this  is  a  war  of  the  West.  We  can  fight 
the  battle,  and  successfully,  within  two  or  three  months  at  the 
furthest.  Illinois  can  whip  the  South  by  herself.' -We  insist 
on  the  matter  being  turned  over  to  us." 

The  Cincinnati  Commercial,  in  commeating  upon  the  claims 
of  the  West,  remarked  that  "  the  West  ought  to  be  made  the 
van-guard  of  the  war" — and  proceeded:  "We  are  akin,  by 
trade  and  geography,  with  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Missouri, 
and  in  sentiment -to  the  noble  Union  patriots  who  have  a 
majority  of  three  to  one  in  all  these  States.  An  Ohio  army 
would  be  received  with  joy  in  Nashville,  and  welcomed  in  a 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   "WAR.  85 

speech  of  congratulation  by  Andrew  Johnson.  Crittenden  and 
Frank  Blair  are  keeping  Kentucky  and  Missouri  all  right. 
The  rebellion  will  be  crushed  out  before  the  assemblage  of 
Congress — no  doubt  of  it." 

Not  a  paper  of  influence  in  the  North  at  that  time  which 
had  the  remotest  idea  of  the  conflict ;  not  a  journalist  who  rose 
to  the  emergencies  of  the  occasion — all  was  passion,  rant  and 
bombast. 

In  the  Northern  cities,  going  to  the  war  for  "three  months," 
the  term  of  the  enlistment  of  volunteers,  was  looked  upon 
almost  as  a  holiday  recreation.  In  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, the  recruiting  offices  were  besieged  by  firemen, (  rowdies 
and  men  fished  from  the  purlieus  of  vice  and  every  sink  of 
degradation.  There  appeared  to  be  no  serious  realization  of 
the  war.  If  a  man  ventured  the  opinion  that  a  hundred 
thousand  Southern  troops  might  be  gathered  in  Virginia,  he 
was  laughed  at  or  answered  with  stories  about  the  Aridondack 
sharpshooters  and  the  New  York  "  roughs."  The  newspapers 
declared  that  the  most  terrible  and  invincible  army  that  ever 
enacted  deeds  of  war  might  be  gathered  from  the  "  roughs  " 
of  the  Northern  cities.  Nothing  could  compete  with  their 
desperate  courage,  and  nothing  could  withstand  their  furious 
onslaught.  A  regiment  of  firemen  and  congenial  spirits  was 
raised  in  New  York,  and  put  under  command  of  Colonel  Ells- 
worth, of  Chicago,  a  youth,  who  had  sgme  time  ago  exhibited 
through  the  country  a  company  of  young  men  drilled  in  the 
manual  and  exercise  of  the  French  Zouav^es,  who  had  made 
himself  a  favourite  with  the  ladies  at  the  Astor  House  and 
Willard's  Hotel  by  his  long  hair,  gymnastic  grace  and.  red 
uniform,  and  who  boasted  of  a  great  deal  of  political  influence 
as  the  pet  and  protege  of  President  Lincoln.  To  the  standard 
of  this  young  man  and  also  to  that  of  a  notorious  bully  and 
marauder,  by  the  name  of  Billy  Wilson,  flocked  all  the  vagrant 
and  unruly  classes  of  the  great  and  vicious  metropolis  of  New 
York.  The  latter  boasted,  that  when  his  regiment  was  moved 
off,  it  would  be  found  that  not  a  thief,  highwayman  or  pick- 


86  •  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

pocket  would  be'  left  in  the  city.  The  people  of  New  York 
and  Washington  were  strangely  enraptured  with  the  spectacle 
of  these  terrible  and  ruthless  crusaders,  who  were  to  strike 
terrour  to  the  hearts  of  the  Southern  people.  Anecdotes  of 
their  rude  and  desperate  disposition,  their  brutal  speeches  and 
their  exploits  of  rowdyism,  were  told  with  glee  and  devoured 
with  unnatural  satisfaction.  In  Washington,  people  were  de- 
lighted by  anecdotes  that  Ellsworth's  Zouaves  made  a  practice 
of  knocking  their  officers  down  ;  that  their  usual  address  td  the 
sentinels  was,  "Say  fellow,  I  am  agoin'  to  leave  this  ranch;" 
that  on  rainy  days  they  seized  umbrellas  from  citizens  on  the 
streets,  and  knocked  them  in  the  gutter  if  they  remonstrated ; 
that,  "in  the  most  entire  good  humour,"  tl»ey  levied  contribu- 
tions of  boots,  shoes,  liquors  and  cigars  on  tradesmen;  and 
that  the  "gallant  little  colonel,"  who  controlled  these  unruly 
spirits,  habitually  wore  a  bowie  knife  two  feet  along.  These 
freaks  and  eccentricities  were  not  only  excusable,  they  were 
.  admirable  ;  the  untamed  courage  of  the  New  York  firemen  and 
rowdies,  said  the  people,  were  to  be  so  useful  and  conspicuous 
in  the  war;  and  the  prophecy  was,  that  these  men,  so  trouble- 
some and  belligerent  towards  quiet  citizens  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  them,  would  be  the  first  to  win  honourable  laurels  on 
the  field  of  combat. 

"  Billy  Wilson's  "  regiment  was  held  up  for  a  long  time  in  , 
New  York  as  an  inimitable  scarecrow  to  the  South.  The 
regiment  was  displayed  on  every  occasion  ;  it  was .  frequently 
marched  up  Broa*dway  to  pay  visits  to  the  principal  hotels. 
On  one  of  these  occasions,  it  was  related  that  Billy  Wilson 
marched  the  companies  into  the  hall  and  spacious  bar-room  of 
the  hotel,  and  issued  the  order  "Attention."  Attention  was 
paid,  and  the  bystanders  preserved  silence.  "  Kneel  down," 
shouted  the  colonel.     The  men   dropped   upon   their   knees, 

"  You  do  solemnly  swear  to  cut  off  the  head  of  every  d d 

Secessionist  you  meet  during  the  war."  "  We  swear,"  was  the 
universal  response.  "  The  gallant  souls,"  said  a  New  York 
paper,  "  then  returned  in  good  order  to  their  quarters." 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  87 

The  newspaper  extracts  and  the  incidents  given  above  afford 
no  little  illustration  of  the  spirit  in  which  the  North  entered 
upon  the  war,  and,  in  this  connection,  belong  to  the  faithful 
history  of  the  times.  That  spirit  was  not  only  trivial  and 
utterly  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  contest  upon  which  the 
North  was  to  enter;  it  betrayed  a  fierceness  and  venom,  the 
monstrous  developments  of  which  were  reserved  for  a  period 
later  in  the  progress  of  the  events. 

What  was  partly  ignorance  and  partly  affectation  on  the 
part  of  the  Northern  press  and  people,  in  their  light  estima- 
tion of  the  war,  was  wholly  affectation  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
telligent and  better  informed  authorities  at  "Washington.  The 
government  had  a  particular  object  in  essaying  to  represent 
the  Southern  revolution  as  nothing  more  than  a  local  mutiny. 
The  necessity  was  plain  for  backing  anything  like  a  European 
recognition  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  Mr.  Seward  was 
prompt  to  rank  the  rebellion  as  a  local  and  disorganized  insur- 
rection, amounting  to  nothing  more  than  a  passing  and  inci- 
dental "  change"  in  the  history  of  the  Union.  At  the  time 
that  all  the  resources  of  the  government  were  put  out  to  en- 
counter the  gathering  armies  of  the  South,  already  within  a 
few  miles  of  its  capital,  Mr.  Seward,  in  a  letter  of  instructions 
to  Mr.  Dayton,  the  recently  appointed  minister  to  France,* 
*  dated  the  4th  of  May,  urged  him  to  assure  that  government 
of  the  fact  that  an  idea  of  a  permanent  disruption  of  the  Union 
was  absurd  ;  that  the  continuance  of  the  Union  was  certain, 
and  that  too  as  an  object  of  "affection!"  He  wrote:  "  The 
thought  j^f  a  dissolution  of  this  Union,  peaceably  or  by  force, 
has  never  entered  into  the  mind  of  any  candid  statesman  here, 
and  it  is  high  time  that  it  be  dismissed  by  the  statesmen  in 
Europe." 

The  government  at  Washington  evidently  showed,  by  its 
preparations,  that  it  was  secretly  conscious  of  the  resources 
and  determined  purposes  of  the  revolution.  Another  procla- 
mation for  still  further  increasing  his  military  forces  had  been 
made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  3d  of  May.-    He  called  for  forty- 


88  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  • 

odd  thousand  additional  volunteers  to  enlist  for  the  war  and 
eighteen  -thousand  seamen,  besides  increasing  the  regular  army 
by  the  addition  of  ten  regiments.  It  is  curious  that  these  im- 
mense preparations  should  have  attracted  such  little  notice 
from  the  Northern  public.  The  people  and  soldiers  appeared 
to  be  alike  hilarious  and  confident  in  the  prospect  of  a  "  short, 
sharp  and  decisive"  war,  that  was  to  restore  the  Union,  open 
the  doors  of  the  treasury,  give  promotion  and  fame  to  those 
desirous  of  gain  in  those  particulars,  and  afford  new  opportuni- 
ties tg  adventurers  of  all  classes. 

The  first  and  opening  movements  of  the  Northern  campaign 
were  decided  to  be  a  forward  movement  from  the  Potomac 
along  the  Orange  and  Alexandria,  and  Central  roads  towards 
Richmond,  while  another  invading  army  might  be  thrown  into 
the  Valley  of  Virginia  from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland. 

The  first  step  of  the  invasion  of  Virginia  was  the  occupa- 
tion of  Alexandria,  which  was  accomplished  on  the  24th  of 
May,  by  throwing  some  eight  thousand  Federal  troops  across 
the  Potomac,  the  Virginia  forces  evacuating  the  town  and  fall- 
ing back  to  the  Manassas  Junction,  where  General  Bonham,  of 
South  Carolina,  was  in  command  of  the  Confederate  forces. 
The  invasion  was  accomplished  under  cover  of  the  night,  and 
'with  such  secrecy  and  dispatch,  that  a  number  of  Virginia 
cavalry  troops  were  found,  unconscious  of  danger,  at  their 
quarters,  and  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  Federal  occupation  of  the  town  was  attended  by  a  dra- 
matic incident,  the  heroism  and  chivalry  of  which  gave  a 
remarkable  lesson  to  the  invader,  of  the  spirit  th^t  was  to 
oppose  his  progress  on  the  soil  of  Virginia.  In  the  gray  of 
the  morning,  Col.  Ellsworth,  who,  with  his  Fire  Zouaves,  had 
entered  the  town,  observed  a  Confederate  flag  floating  from 
the  top  of  a  hotel  called  the  Marshall  House,  and  attended  by 
a  squad  of  his  men,  determined  to  secure  it  as  his  prize.  He 
found  his  way  into  the  hotel,  ascended  the  stairs,  and  climbed, 
by  a  ladder,  to  the  top  of  the  house,  where  he  secured  the 
obnoxious  ensign.     As  he  was  descending  from  the  trap  door, 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  89 

with  the  flag  on  his  arm,  he  was  confronted  by  Mr.  Jackson, 
the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  who,  aroused  from  his  bed  by  the 
unusual  noise,  half-dressed,  and  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  with  a 
•  double-barrel  gun  in  his  hands,  faced  Ellsworth  with  his  four 
companions  with  a  quiet  and  settled  determination.  M  This  is 
my  trophy,"  said  the  Federal  commander,  pointing  to  the  flag. 
"And  you  are  mine,"  responded  the  Virginian,  as  with  a  quick 
aim  he  discharged  his  gun  full  into  the  breast  of  Colonel  Ells- 
worth, and  the  next  instant  sank  by  his  side  a  breathless  corpse, 
from  a  bullet,  sped  through  the  brain,  and  a  bayonet  thrust,  at 
the  hands  of  one  cf  the  soldiers. 

The  slayer  of  Colonel  Ellsworth  was  branded,  in  the  North, 
as  an  "assassin."  The  justice  of  history  does  not  permit 
such  a  tei'm  to  be  applied  to  a  man  who  defended  his  country's 
flag  and  the  integrity  of  his  home  with  his  life,  distinctly  and 
fearlessly  offered  up  to  such  objects  of  honour ;  it  gives  him 
the  name  which  the  Southern  people  hastened  to  bestow  upon 
the  memory  of  the  heroic  Jackson — that  of  "  martyr."  The 
character  of  this  man  is  said  to  have  been  full  of  traits  of 
rude%native  chivalry.  He  was  captain  of  an  artillery  company 
in  his  town.  He  was  known  to  his  neighbours  as  a  person 
who  united  a  dauntless  and  unyielding  courage  with  the  most 
generous  impulses.  A  week  before  his  death  a  "  Union"  man 
from  Washington  had  been  seized  in  the  streets  of  Alexandria, 
and  a  crowd  threatened  to  shoot  or  hang  him,  when  Jackson 
went  to  his  rescue,  threatened  to  kill  any  man  who  would 
molest  him,  and  saved  him  from  the  vengeance  of  the  mob. 
A  day  before  the  Federal  occupation  of  the  town,  in  a  conver- 
sation in  which  some  such  movement  was  conjectured,  his 
neighbours  remonstrated  with  him  about  the  danger  of  making 
his  house  a  sign  for  the  enemy's  attack,  by  the  flag  which 
floated  over  it.  He  replied  that  he  would  sacrifice  his  life  in 
keeping  the  flag  flying — and  by  daybreak  the  next  day  the  oath 
was  fulfilled.  He  laid  down  his  life,  not  in  the  excitement  of 
passion,  but  coolly  and  deliberately,  upon  a  principle,  and  as 
an  example  in  defending  the  sacred -rights  of  his  home  and  the 


90  THE   FIKST   YEAR    OF    THE   WAK. 

flag  of  his  country.  This  noble  act  of  heroism  did  not  fail  to 
move  the  hearts  of  the  generous  people  of  the  South ;  a  monu- 
ment was  proposed  to  the  memory  of  the' only  hero  of  Alex- 
andria ;  the  dramatic  story,  and  the  patriotic  example  of ""  the  < 
martyr- Jackson,"  were  not  lost  sight  of  in  the  stormy  excite- 
ments of  the  war  that  swept  out  of  the  mind  so  many  incidents 
of  its  early  history;  and  in  most  of  the  cities  of  the  South 
practical  evidences  of  regard  were  given  in  large,  voluntary 
subscriptions  to  his  bereaved  family. 

The  Federal  forces  were  not  met  in  Alexandria  with  any  of 
those  demonstrations  of  "Union"  sentiment  which  they  had 
been  induced,  by  the  misrepresentations  of  the  Northern  press, 
to  expect  would  hail  the  van-guard  of  their  invasion  of  the 
South.  The  shouts  and  yells  of  the  invaders  fell  upon  the  ears 
of  a  sullen  people,  who  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  as 
much  to  avoid  the  grating  exultations  of  their  enemies  as  con- 
tact with  the  rowdyism  and  riot  that  had  taken  possession  of 
the  streets.  On  coming  into  the  town,  the  New  York  troops, 
particularly  the  Fire  Zouaves,  ran  all  over  the  city  with  their 
usual  cry  of  "Hi,"  "Hi."  •  Citizens  closed  their  doorsv  and 
as  the  news  of  the.  tragedy  of  the  Marshall  House  spread 
over  the  town,  it  assumed  an  aspect. like  that  of  the  Sabbath. 
About  the  wharves  and  warehouses,  where  hitherto, the  life  and 
excitement  of  the  town  had  been  concentrated,  the  silence  was 
absolutely  oppressive ;  and  the  only  people  to  be  seen  were 
numbers  of  negroes,  who  stood  about  the  wharves  and  on  the 
street  corners  with  frightened  faces,  talking  in  low  tones  to 
each  other. 

With  Alexandria  and  Fortress  Monroe  in  its  possession,  the 
Federal  Government  held  the  most  important  passages  into 
Virginia.  Gen.  McDowell  was  charged  with  the  command  of 
the  division  of  the  forces  thrown  across  the  Potomac.  Gen. 
Butler  was  placed  in  command  at  Fortress  Monroe.  The 
town  of  Hampton  was  occupied  by  the  Federal  troops,  and 
Newport-News,  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River,  invested  by 
them.     At  Sewell's  Point,  some  eight  or  te,n  miles  distant  on 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  91 

the  other  side,  the  Confederates  had  erected  a  powerful  battery, 
"which  had  proved  its  efficiency  and  strength  by  resisting  an 
attack  made  upon  it  on  the  19th  of  May,  and  continued  for 
two  days,  by  the  Federal  steamer  Monticello,  aided  by  the 
Minnesota.  # 

The  first  serious  contest  of  the  war  was  to  occur  in  the  low 
country  of  Virginia.  On  the  10th  of  June  the  battle  of 
Bethel  was  fought. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    BETHEL. 

The  Confederates,  to  the  number  of  about  eighteen  hundred, 
under  Colonel  J.  Bank  head  Magruder,  were  entrenched  at 
Great  Bethel  Church,  which  was  about  nine  miles  on  the  road 
leading  south  from  Hampton.  A  Federal  force  exceeding  four 
thousand  men,  under  General  Pierce — a  Massachusetts  officer 
who  was  never  afterwards  heard  of  in  the  war — was  moved 
towards  Bethel  in  two  separate  bodies,  a  portion  landing  on  the 
extreme  side  of  the  creek,  some  distance  below,  while  the  rest 
proceeded  across  the  creek.  The%  landing  of  the  latter  was 
effected  without  opposition,  and  presently  the  Federal  troops, 
who  had  marched  up  from  below,  closed  in  on  the  Confederates 
almost  simultaneously  with  those  attacking  their  front. 

The  attack  was  received  by  a  battery  of  the  Richmond 
|  Howitzers,  under  command  of  Major  Randolph;  the  action 
being  commenced  by  a  shot  from  the  Parrott  gun  in  our  main 
battery  aimed  by  himself.  One  of  the  guns  of  the  battery 
being  spiked  by  the  breaking  of  a  priming  wire  in  the  vent, 
the  infantry  supports  were  withdrawn,  and  the  work  was  occu- 
pied for  a  moment  by  the  enemy.  Captain  Bridges,  of  the 
1st  North  Carolina  regiment,  was  ordered  to  retake  it.  The 
charge  of  the  North  Carolina  Infantry,  on  this  occasion,  was 
the  most  brilliant  incident  of  the  day.  They  advanced  calmly 
and  coolly  in  the  face  of  a  sheet  of  artillery  fire,  and  when 
within  sixty  yards  of  the  enemy  dashed  on  at  the  double  quick. 
The  Federals  fell  back  in  dismay. 

The  enemy  continued  to  fire  briskly,  but  wildly,  with  his  ar- 


92  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WA'R. 

tillery.  At  no  time,  during  the  artillery  engagement,  could 
the  Confederates  see  the  bodies  of  the  men  in  the  column  of 
attack,  and  their  fire  was  directed  by  the  bayonets  of  the 
enemy.  The  position  of  the  enemy*  was  obscured  by  the  shade 
of  the  woods  on.  their  right  and  two  small  Rouses  0n  their  left. 
The  fire  of  the  Confederates  was  returned  by  a  battery  near 
the  head  of  the  enemy's  column,  but  concealed  by  the  woods 
and  the  houses  so  effectually  that  the  Confederates  only  ascer- 
tained its  position  by  the  flash  of  the  pieces. 

The  earthworks  were  struck  several  times  by  the  shots  of  the 
Federals.  They  fired  upon  us  with  shot,  shell,  spherical  case, 
canister  and  grape,  from  six  and  twelve  pounders,  at  a  distance 
of  six  hundred  yards.  The  only  injury  received  from  their 
artillery  was  the  loss  of  a  mule.  The  fire  on  our  part  was 
deliberate,  and  was  suspended  whenever  masses  of  the  enemy 
were  not  within  range.  From  9  o'clock  A.  M.  until  1:30  P.  M. 
but  ninety-eight  shot  were  fired  by  us,  every  one  of  them  with 
deliberation. 

After  some  intermission  qf  the  assault  in  front,  a  heavy  col- 
umn, apparently  a  reinforcement  or  a  reserve,  made  its  appear- 
ance on  the  Hampton  Road  and  pressed  forward  towards  the 
bridge,  carrying  the  United  States  flag  at  its  head.  This  col- 
umn was  under  command  of  Major  Winthrop,  aid  to  General 
Butler.  Those  in  advance  had  put  on  the  distinctive  badge  of 
the  Confederates — a  white  band  around  the  cap.  They  eried 
out  repeatedly,  "don't  fire."  Having  crossed  the  creek,  they 
began  to  cheer  most  lustily,  thinking  that  our  work  was  open 
at  the  gorge,  and  that  they  might  get  in  by  a  sudden  rush. 
The  North  Carolina  infantry,  however,  dispelled  'this  illusion. 
Their  firing  was  as  cool  as  that  of  veterans;  the  only  difficulty 
being  the  anxiety  of  the  riflemen  to  pick  off  the  foe,  the  men 
repeatedly  calling  to  their  officers,  "may  I  fire;  I  think  I  ca,n 
bring  him." 

As  the  enemy  fell  back  in  disorder  and  his  final  route  com- 
menced, the  bullet  of  a  North-  Carolina  rifleman  pierced  the 
breast  of  the  brave  Federal  officer,  Major  Winthrop,  who  had 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  93 

made  himself  a  conspicuous  mark  by  his  gallantry  on  the  field. 
"He  was,"  says  Colonel  Hill,  of  the  North  Carolina  regiment, 
in  liis  official  report  of  the  action,  "  the  only  one  of  the  enemy 
■who  exhibited  even  an  approximation  to  courage  during  the 
whole  day."  The  fact  was,  that  he  had  fallen  in  circumstances 
of  great  gallantry.  He  was  shot  while  standing  on  a  log, 
waving  his  sword  and  vainly  attempting  to  rally  his. men  to  the 
charge.  His  enemy  did  honour  to  his  memory ;  and  the  South- 
ern people,  who  had  been  unaWe  to  appreciate  the  courage  of 
Ellsworth,  and  turned  with  disgust  from  his  apotheosis  in  the 
North,  did  not  fail  to  pay  the  tribute  due  a  truly  brave  man  to 
the  gallant  Winthrop,  who,  having  simply  died  on  the  battle- 
field, without  the  sensational  circumstance  of  a  private  brawl 
or  a  tmlly's  adventure,  was  soon  forgotten  in  the  North. 

During  the  fight  at  the  angle  of  our  works,  a  small  wooden 
house  in  front  was  thought  to  give  protection  to  the  enemy. 
Four  privates  in  the  North  Carolina  regiment  volunteered  to 
advance  beyond  our  lines  and  set  it  on  fire.  One  of  them,  a 
youth  named  Henry  L.  Wyatt,  advanced  ahead  of  his  com- 
panions, and,  as  he  passed  between  the  two  fires,  he  fell 
pierced  by  a  musket-ball  in  the  forehead,  within  thirty  yards 
of  the  house.  This  was  our  only  loss  in  killed  during  the 
entire  engagement. 

The  results  of  the  battle  of  Bethel  were  generally  magnified 
in  the  South.  It  is  true  that  a  Confederate  force  of  some 
eighteen  hundred  men,  in  a  contest  of  several  hours  with  an 
enemy  more  than  twice  their  numbers,  had  repulsed  them; 
that  the  entire  loss  of  the  former  was  only  one  man  killed  and 
seven  wounded,  while  that  of  the  enemy,  by  their  own  ac- 
knowledgment, was  thirty  killed  and  more  than  one  hundred 
wounded.  The  fact,  however,  was,  that  our  troops  had  fought 
under  the  impenetrable  cover  of  their  batteries,  the  only  in- 
stance of  exposure  being  th%t  of  the  North  Carolina  infantry, 
who,  by  their  charge  on  the  redoubt  taken  by  the  enemy  early 
in  the  action,  contributed,  most  of  all,  to  the  success  and  glory 
of  the  day.     The  battle  had  been  the  result  of  scarcely  any 


94  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

thing,  more  than  a  reconnoissance;  it  was  by  no  weans  to  be 
ranked  as  a  decisive  engagement,  and  yet  it  was  certainly  a 
serious  and  well-timed  check  to  the  foe. 

In  one  respect,  however,  the  result  was  not  magnified,  and. 
that  was  in  its  contribution  of  confidence  and  ardour  to  the 
South.  Thus  regarded,  it  was  an  important  event,  and  its 
effects  of  the  happiest  kind.  The  victory  was  achieved  at  a 
time  when  the  public  mind  was  distressed  and  anxious  on  ac- 
count of  the  constant  backward  movements  of  our  forces  in 
Virginia,  and  the  oft-recurring  story  of  "surprise"  and  con- 
sequent disaster  to  our  troops  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
enemy's  lines.  The  surrender  of  Alexandria,  the  surprise  and 
dispersion  of  a  camp  at  Philippi  by  a  body  of  Federal  troops,* 
1 . . , , 

*  Thj  disaster  at  Philippi  was  inconsiderable;  but  it  was  the  subject  of 
some  recrimination  at  the  time,  and  Colonel  Porterfield,  the  Confederate  com- 
mander, was  subjected  to  a  court-martial,  which,  in  the  main,  exonerated 
him,,  and  complimented  him  for  his  courage.  Colonel  Porterfield  had  been 
ordered  to  Grafton  about  the  middle  of  May,  1861,  with  written  instructions 
from  General  Lee  to  call  for  volunteers  from  that  part  of  the  State,  and 
receive  them  into  the  service,  to  the  number  of  five  thousand;  and  to  co- 
operate with  the  agents  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad;  and  with  verbal 
orders  to*  try  to  conciliate  the  people  of  that  section,  and  to  do  nothing  to 
offend  them.  Finding,  soon  after  his  arrival,  that  the  country  wos  in  a  state 
of  revolution,  and  that  there  was  a  large  and  increasing  Federal  force  at 
Camp  Denison,  in  Ohio,  opposite  Parkersburg,  and  another  in  the  vicinity  of 
Wheeling,  Colonel  Porterfield  wrote  to  the  commanding  general,  that  unless 
a  strong  force  was  sent  very  soon,  Northwestern  Virginia  would  be  overrun.  ' 

Upon  directing  the  captains  of  organized  volunteer  companies  to  proceed 
with  their  companies  to  Grafton,  they  replied  that  dot  more  than  twenty  in 
companies  numbering  sixty  were  willing  to  take  up  arms  on  the  side  of  the 
State;  that  the  others  declared,  if  they  were  compelled  to  fight,  it  would  be 
in  defence  of  the  Union.  Colonel  Porterfield  succeeded  in  a  week  in  getting 
together  three  newly-organized  companies.  This  force  was  increased  by  the 
arrival  of  several  other  companies,  two  of  which*  were  unarmed  cavalry  com- 
panies—  amounting  in  all  to  about  500  infantry  and  150  cavalry.  These 
troops  had  been  at  Grafton  but  a  few  clays,  when,  or  about  the  25th  of  May, 
Colonel  Porterfield  was  reliably  informed  of  the  force  of  the  enemy  and 
withdrew  his  command  to  Philippi.  Ord#rs  were  given  for  the  destruction 
of  the  Cheat  bridge,  bu,t  were  not  executed.  The  enemv's  force  at  Grafton 
was  about  eight  thousand  men.  On  the  3d  of  June,  thnrugh  the  failure  of 
the  guard  or  infantry  pickets  to  give  the  alarm,  the  command  at  Philippi' waa 
surprised  by  about  five  thousand  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery,  and  dis- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  95 

and  the  apparently  uncertain  movements  of  our  forces  on  the 
Upper  Potomac,  had  unpleasantly  exercised  the  popular  mind, 
and  had  given  rise  to  many  rash  and  ignorant  doubts  with  re- 
spect to  the  opening  events  of  the  war.  The  battle  of  Bethel 
was  the  first  to  turn  the  hateful  current  of  retreat,  and  sent  the 
first  gleam  of  sunlight  through  the  sombre  shadows  that  had 
hung  over  public  opinion  in  the  South. 

It  is  certain  that  the  movements  on  the  Upper  Potomac  were 
greatly  misunderstood  at  the  time,  especially  in  regard  ,  to 
the*  evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry.  General  Joseph  E.  John- 
ston, who  had  been  a  Quartermaster-General  in  the  old  United 
States  service,  and  had  resigned  to  take  part  in  the  defence  of 
his  native  State,  Virginia,  had  assumed  command  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  on  the  23d  of  May.  On  the  27th  of  the  same  month, 
General  Beauregard  had  relinquished  his  command  at  Charles- 
ton, being  assigned  to  duty  at  Corinth,  Mississippi;  but,  the 
order  being  re-called,  he  was  put  in  command  at  Manassas, 
our  forces  being  divided  into  what  was  known  as  the  armies  of 
the  Potomac  and  of  the  Shenandoah.  At  the  time  General 
Johnston  took  command  at  Harper's  Ferry,  the  forces  at  t hat 
.point  consisted  of  nine  regiments  and  two  battalions  of  in- 
fantry, with  four  companies  of  artillery — a  force  which  was 
certainly  not  sufficient,  when  we  consider  that  it  was  expected 
to  hold  both  sides  of  the  Potomac,  and  take  the  field  against 
an  invading  army.  After  a  complete  reconnoisance  of  the 
place  and  environs,  General  Johnston  decided  that  it  was 
untenable,  but  determined  to  hold  it  until  the  great  objects  of 
the  government  required  its  abandonment. 


persed  in  great  confusion,  but  with  inconsiderable  loss  of  life,  through  the 
woods.  The  command  had  no  equipments  and  very  little  ammunition.  Such 
was  the  inauguration  of  the  improvident  and"  unfortunate  campaign  in  Western 
Virginia. 

General  Garnett  succeeded  Colonel  Porterfield  in  the  command  in  North- 
western Virginia,  with  a  much  larger  force  (about  six  thousand  men,)  but 
one  obviously  inadequate,  considering  the  extent  of  the  district  it  was  ex- 
pected to  defend,  the  hostile  character  of  the  country  and  the  invading  forces 
of  the  enemy. 


96  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR/ 

The  demonstrations  of  the  Federal  forces  in  the  direction  of 
the  Valley  of  Virginia  were  certainly  thwarted  by  the  timely 
falling  back  of  our  army  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Winchester, 
General  Patterson's  approach  was  expected  by  the  great  route 
into  the  Valley  from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  leading 
through  Winchester,  and  it  was  an  object  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance* to  prevent  any  junction  between  his  forces  and  those 
of  General  McClellan,  who  was  already  making  his  way  into 
the  upper  portions  of  the  Valley.  On  the  morning  of  the  13th 
of  June,  information  was  received  from  Winchester  that  Rom- 
ney  was  occupied  by  two  thousand  Federal  troops,  supposed  to 
be  the'  van-guard  of  McClellan's  army.  A  detachment  was 
dispatched  by  railway  to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy; 
and,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  Confederate  army  left 
Harper's  Ferry  for  Winchester. 

The  next  morning,  after  'the  orders  were  issued  for  the 
evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry,  brought  one  of  those  wild, 
fearful  scenes  which  make  the  desolation  that  grows  out  of 
war.  The  splendid  railroad  bridge .  across  the  Potomac — one 
of  the  most  superb  structures  of  its  kind  on  the  continent — 
was.  set  on  fire  at  its  northern  end,  while  about  four  hundred  t 
feet  at  its  southern  'extremity  was  blown  up,  to  prevent  the 
flames  from  reaching  other  works  which  it  was  necessary  to 
save.  Many  of  the  vast  buildings  were  consigned  to  the 
flames.  Some  of  them  were  not  only  large,  but  very  lofty 
and  crowned  with  tall  towers  and  spires,  and  we  may  be  able 
to  fancy  the  sublimity  of  the  scene,  when  more  than  a  dozen 
of  these  huge  fabrics,  crowded  into  a  small  space,  were  blazing 
at.  once.  So  great  was  the  heat  and  smoke,  that  many  of  the 
troops  were  forced  out  of  the  town,  and  the  necessary  labours 
of  the  removal  were  performed  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  after  the  evacuation  of  Harper's 
Ferry,  intelligence  was  received  that  General  Patterson's  army 
had  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport;  also  that  the  Fed- 
eral force  at  Romney  had '  fallen  back.  The  Confederate 
army  was  ordered  to  gain  the  Martinsburg  turnpike  by  a  flank 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  97 

movement  to  Bunker's  Hill,  in  order  to  place  itself  between 
Winchester  and  the  expected  advance  of  Patterson.  On 
hearing  of  this,  the  enemy  crossed  the  river  precipitately. 
Resuming  his  first  direction  and  plan,  General  Johnston  pro- 
ceeded to  Winchester.  There  his  army  was  in  position  to 
oppose  either  McClcIlan  from  the  West,  or  Patterson  from  the 
Northeast,  and  to  form  a  junction  with  General  Beauregard 
when  necessary. 

Intelligence  from  Maryland  indicating  another  movement 
by  Patterson,  Colonel  Jackson  with  his  brigade  was  sent  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Martinsburg  to  support  Colonel  Stuart, 
who  had  been  placed  in  observation  on  the  line  of  the  Potomac 
with  his  cavalry.  On  the  2d  of  July,  General  Patterson  again 
crossed  the  Potomac.  Colonel  Jackson,  pursuant  to  instruc- 
tions, again  fell  back  before  him  ;  but,  in  retiring,  gave  him  a 
severe  lesson.  With  a  battalion  of  the  Fifth  Virginia  regi- 
ment and  Pendleton's  Battery  of  Field  Artillery,  he  engaged 
the  enemy's  advance.  Skilfully  taking  a  position  where  the 
smallness  of  his  force  was  concealed,  he  engaged  them  for  a 
considerable  time,  inflicted  a  heavy  loss,  and  retired  when 
about  to  be  outflanked,  scarcely  losing  a  man,  but  bringing  off 
forty-five  prisoners. 

Upon  this  intelligence,  the  force  at  Winchester,  strength- 
ened by  the  arrival  of  General  Bee  and  Colonel  Elzey  and  the 
Ninth-  Georgia  regiment,  were  ordered  forward  to  the  support 
of  Jackson,  who,  it  was  supposed,  was  closely  followed  by  Gen- 
eral Patterson.  Taking  up  a  position  within  six  miles  from 
Martinsburg,  which  town  the  enemy  had  invested,  General 
Johnston  waited  for  him  four  days,  hoping  to  be  attacked  by 
an  adversary  double  his  number.  Convinced  at  length  that 
the  enemy  would  not  approach  him,  General  Johnston  returned 
to  Winchester,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  his  troops,  who, 
sullen  and  discontented,  withdrew  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  15th  of  July,  Colonel  Stuart,  who,  with  his  cavalry, 
remained  near  the  enemy,  reported  the  advance  of  General 
Patterson  from  Martinsburg.     He  halted,  however,  at  Bunker's 
7    ' 


98  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

Hill,  nine  miles  from  Winchester,  where  he  remained  on  the 
lGth.  On  the  17th,  he  moved  his  left  to  Smithfield.  This 
movement  created  an  impression  that  an  attack  was  intended 
on  the  south  of  the  Confederate  lines;  but,  with  a  clear  and 
quick  intelligence,  General  Johnston  had  penetrated  the  de- 
Bigns  of  the  enemy,  which  were  to  hold  him  in  check,  while 
"the  Grand  Army"  under  Mc£)owell  was  to  bear  down  upon 
General  Beauregard  at  Manassas. 

In  the  meantime,  General  McClellan's  army  had  moved 
sonthwestward  from  Grafton.  In  the  progress  of  t.he  history 
of  the  war,  Ave  shall  meet  with  frequent  repetitions  of  the 
lesson  of  how  the  improvident  spirit  of  the  South,  in  placing 
small  forces  in  isolated  localities,  was  taken  advantage  of  by 
the  quick  strategic  movements  and  the  overwhelming  numbers 
of  the  North.  The  first  of  the  series  of  these  characteristic 
disasters  was  now  to  befall  the  South. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    RICH    MOUNTAIN. 

The  main  column  of  Federal  troops  under  General  McClellan 
was  estimated  to  be  twenty  thousand  strong;  his  movements 
were  now  directed  towards  Beverley,  with  the  object  of  getting 
to  the  rear  of  General  Garnett,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  Confederate  forces  in  Northwestern  Virginia, 
and  was  occupying  a  strong  position  at  Rich  Mountain,  in 
Randolph  county. 

The  strength  of  General  Garnett's  command  was  less  than 
five  thousand  infantry,  with  ten  pieces  of  artillery  and  four 
companies  of  cavalry.  The  disposition  of  these  forces  was  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Rich  Mountain.  Col.  Pegram  occu- 
pied the  mountain  with  a  force  of  about  sixteen  hundred  men 
and  some  pieces  of  artillery.  On  the  slopes  of  Laurel  Hill, 
General  Garnett  was  entrenched  with  a  force  of  three  thousand 
infantry,  six  pieces  of  artillery  and  three  companies  of  cavalry. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  the  enemy  took  a  position  at  Bealing- 
ton,  in  front  of  Laurel  Hill,  and  a  day  or  two  afterwards  a 
large  force  appeared  in  front  of  Rich  Mountain. 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  99 

On  the  morning  of  the  11th  instant,  General  Garnett  re- 
ceived a  note  from  Colonel  Pegram  at  Rich  Mountain,  stating 
that  his  pickets  had  that  morning  taken  a  prisoner,  who  stated 
that  there  were  in  front  of  Rich  Mountain  nine  regiments  of 
seven  thousand  men  and  a  number  of  pieces  of  artillery;  that 
General  McClellan  had  arrived  in  camp  the  evening  before, 
and  had  given  orders  for  an  attack  the  next  day  ;  that  General 
Rosencranz  had  started  a  night  before  with  a  division  of  the 
army  three  thousand  strong,  by  a  convenient  route,  to  take  him 
in  the  rear,  while  McClellan  was  to  attack  in  front;  that  he 
had  moved  a  piece  of  artillery  and  three  hundred  men  to  the 
point  by  which  General  Rosencranz  was  expected,  and  that  he 
had  requested  Colonel  Scott,  with  his  regiment,  to  occupy  a 
position  on  the  path  by  which  the  enemy  must  come.  As  soon 
as  General  Garnett  received  this  note,  he  sent  a  written  order 
to  Colonel  Scott  to  move  to  the  point  indicated  by  Colonel 
Pegram,  and  to  defend  it  at  all  hazards. 

The  attack  on  Colonel  Pegram  was  met  with  the  most  gallant 
resistance.  The  fight  lasted  nearly  three  hours.  The  enemy 
advanced  by  a  pathless  route  through  the  woods,  the  whole 
division  moving  in  perfect  silence  through  the  brush,  laurel 
and  rocks,  while  the  rain  poured  down  upon  them  in  torrents. 
The  expectation,  however,  of  surprising  the  little  force  on  the 
mountain  was  disappointed.  As  the  enemy  advanced,  our 
artillery,  posted  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  opened  upon 
them,  but  with  little  effect,  as  their  lines  were  concealed  by 
the  trees  and  brushwood.  The  earth  of  the  mountain  seemed 
to  tremble  under  the  thunders  of  the  cannon.  The  tops  of 
immense  trees  were  cut  off  by  our  fire,  which  was  aimed  too 
high ;  the  crash  of  the  falling  timber  mingled  with  the  roar 
of  the  cannon,  and  as  our  artillery  again  and  again  belched 
forth  its  missives  of  destruction,  it  seemed  as  if  the  forest  was 
riven  by  living  streams  of  lightning.  While  the  cannonading 
progressed,  an  incessant  fire  of  musketry  was  kept  up  in  the 
woods,  where  the  sharpshooters,  wet  to  the  skin  in  the  rain, 
kept  the  advancing  lines  of  the  enemy  at  bay.     For  more 


100  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

than  two  hours  the  little  army  of  Colonel  Pegram  maintained 
its  ground.  Its  situation,  however,  was  hopeless.  Finding 
himself  with  three  thousand  of  the  enemy  in  his  rear  and  five 
thousand  in  front,  Colonel  Pegram  endeavored  to  escape  with 
his  command,  after  a  small  loss  in  the,  action.  One  part  of 
the  command,  under  Major  Tyler,  succeeded  in  escaping ;  the 
other,  about  five  hundred  in  number,  were  compelled  to  sur- 
render, when  it  was  found  that  General  Garnett  had  evacuated 
Laurel  Hill.  Among  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  enemy  was 
Colonel  Pegram  himself.  Thrown  from  his  horse,  which  was 
wounded  and  had  become  unmanageable,  he  refused  to  surren 
d'er  his  sword  to  his  captors,  and  a  messenger  had  to  ride  six 
miles  to  find  an  officer  to  receive  it  from  the  hands  of  the  ill 
starred  commander. 

When  Gen.  Garnett  heard  of  the  result  of  the  engagement 
at  Rich  Mountain,  he  determined  to  evacuate  Laurel  Hill  as 
soon  as  night  set  in  and  retire  to  Huttonsville  by  the  way  of 
Beverley.  This  design  was  baffled,  as  Colonel  Scott  with  his 
regiment  had  retreated  beyond  Beverley  towards  Huttonsville, 
without  having  blocked  the  road  between  Rich  Mountain  and 
Beverley.*  General  Garnett  was  compelled  by  this  untoward 
circumstance,  and  by  the  mistaken  execution  of  another  order 
by  which  the  road  was  blocked  from  Beverley- towards  Laurel 
Hill,  instead  of  that  between  the  former  place  and  Rich  Moun- 
tain, to  retreat  by  a  mountain  road  into  Hardy  county. 

The  retreat  was  conducted  in  good  order,  amid  distresses 
and  trials  of  the  most  extraordinary  description.  The  road  was 
barely  wide  enough  for  a  single  wagon.  In  the  morning,  the 
armv  arrived  at  a  camp  on  the  Little  Cheat,  and  after  resting 
on  the  grass  in  the  rain  a  few  hours,  took  up  their  dreary  line 
of  march  through  the  forest.     On  the  morning  of  the  second 

*  It  is  proper  to  state,  that  there  was  some  controversy  as  to  the  precise 
orders  given  to  Col.  Scott.  That  officer  published  a  card  in  the  nawspapers 
at  the  time,  relieving  himself  from  censure  and  showing  that  he  occupied  on 
the  day  of  the  battle  the  position  to  which  he  was  peremptorily  ordered  by 
Gen.  Garnett  at  the  instance  of  Col.  Pegram. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  101 

day  of  the  retreat,  soon  after  leaving  the  camp  on  the  branch 
of  the  Cheat  River,  the  pursuing  enemy  fell  upon  the  rear  of 
the  distressed  little  army,  and  skirmishing  continued  during  the 
day.     Four  companies  of  the  Georgia  regiment  were  cut  off. 

At  one  of  the  fords,  a  sharp  conflict  ensued,  in  which  the 
enemy  were  held  at  bay  for  a  considerable  time. 

This  action,  known  as  that  of  Carrock's  Ford,  more  than  re- 
trieved the  disasters  of  the  defeat.  It  was  a  deep  ford,  ren- 
dered deeper  than  usual  by  tl\p  rains,  and  here  some  of  the 
wagons  became  stalled  in  the  river  and  had  to  be  abandoned. 

The  enemy  was  now  close  upon  the  rear,  which  consisted  of 
the  23d  Virginia  regiment  and  the  artillery  ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  command  had  crossed,  Colonel  Taliaferro  commanding  the 
23d  was  ordered  to  occupy  the  high  bank  on  the  right  of  the 
ford  with  his  regiment  and  artillery.  On  the  right,  this  posi- 
tion was  protected  by  a  fence  ;  on  the  left,  only  by  low  bushes; 
but  the  hill  commanded  the  ford  and  the  approach  to  it  by  the 
road,  and  was  admirably  selected  for  a  defence.  In  a  few 
minutes,  the  skirmishers  of  the  enemy  were  seen  running  along 
the  opposite  bank,  which  was  low  and  skirted  by  a  few  trees, 
and  were  at  first  taken  for  the  Georgians,  who  were  known  to 
have  been  cut  off,  but  our  men  were  soon  undeceived,  and  with 
a  simultaneous  cheer  for  "Jeff.  Davis"  by  the  whole  command, 
they  opened  upon  the  enemy. 

The  enemy  replied  with  a  heavy  fire  from  their  infantry  and 
artillery.  A  large  force  was  brought  to  the  attack,  but  the 
continued  and  well-directed  fire  of  the  Confederates  kept  them 
from  crossing  the  river,  and  twice  the  enemy  was  driven  back 
6ome  distance  from  the  ford.  They  again,  however,  came  up 
with  a  heavy  force  and  renewed  the  fight.  The  fire  of  their 
artillery  was  entirely  ineffective,  although  their  shot  and  shell 
were  thrown  very  rapidly,  but  they  all  flew  over  the  heads  of 
the  Confederate  troops,  without  any  damage  except  bringing 
the  limbs  of  the  trees  down  upon  them. 

After  continuing  the  fight  until  nearly  every  cartridge  had 
been  expended,  and  until  the  artillery  had  been  withdrawn  by 


102  TIIE    FIRST   YEAR    OI1   THE    WAR. 

General  Garnett's  orders,  and  as  no  part  of  his  command  was 
within  sight  or  supporting  distance,  as  far  as  could  be  dis- 
covered, or,  as  was  afterwards  ascertained,  within  four  miles  of 
the  ford,  Colonel  Taliaferro,  after  having  sustained  a  loss  of 
about  thirty  killed  and  wounded,  ordered  the  regiment  to 
retire — the  officers  and  men  manifesting  decided  reluctance  at 
being  withdrawn. 

The  loss  to  the  enemy  in  this  gallant  little  affair  must  have 
been  quite  considerable,  as  they  had,  from  their  own  account, 
three  regiments  engaged.  .The  people  in  the  neighborhood  re- 
ported a  heavy  loss,  which  they  stated  the  enemy  endeavoured 
to  conceal  by  transporting  the  dead  and  wounded  to  Bealington 
in  covered  wagons,  permitting  no  one  to  approach  them. 
.  At  the  second  ford,  about  half-past  one  o'clock  in  the  day, 
Gen.  Garnett  was  killed  by  almost  the  last  fire  of  the  enemy. 
On  reaching  at  this  ford  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  Gen. 
Garnett  desired  one  company  from  the  23d  Virginia  regiment 
to,be  formed  behind  some  high  drift  wood.  He  stated  that  he 
would  in  person  take  charge  of  them,  and  did  so — the  company 
being  the  Richmond  Sharpshooters,  Capt.  Tompkins.  In  a  few 
minutes,  Capt.  Tompkins  and  all  his  meir,  but  ten,  came  up  to 
the  regiment,  stating  that  General  Garnett  only  wanted  ten 
men.  The  inference  was  palpable — he  had  taken  an  extreme 
near  position  to  the  enemy.  Very  soon  the  firing  commenced 
in  the  rear  where  General  Garnett  was,  and  immediately  the 
horse  of  the  general  came  galloping  past  without  a  rider.  He 
fell  just  as  he  gave  the  order  to  the  skirmishers  to  retire,  anct 
one  of  them  was  killed  by  his  side. 

At  the  second  ford,  where  General  Garnett  was  killed,  the 
enemy  abandoned  the  pursuit,  and  the  command  under  Col. 
Ramsey  reached  Monte'rcy,  and  formed  a  junction  with  Gen. 
Jackson. 

The  actual  reverses  of  the  retreat  consisted  of  some  thirty- 
odd  killed  and  wounded,  a  number  missing,  many  of  whom 
afterwards  reached  the  command,  and  the  loss  of  its  baggage, 
a  portion  of  which  was  used  in  blocking  the  road  against  the 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  103 

enemy's  artillery.  The  conflict  and  the  retreat,  the  hunger 
and  fatigue  of  the  men,  many  of  whom  dropped  from  the  ranks 
from  sheer  exhaustion,  were  unequalled  by  anything  that  had 
yet  occurred  fn  the  war.  Its  success  appeared  as  extraordinary 
as  its  hardships  and  privations.  Surrounded  by  an  army  of 
twenty  thousand  men,  without  supplies,  in  a  strange  country, 
and  in  the  midst  of  continuous  and  drenching  rains,  it  was  a 
wonder  that  the  little  army  of  three  thousand  men  should  have 
escaped  annihilation.  The  command  had  marched  sixty  hours, 
resting  only  five  hours,  and  had  endured  a  march  through  the 
forest  without  food  for  men  or  horses. 

Gen.  McClellan  announced  to  the  government  at  "Washing- 
ton a  signal  victory.  He  summed  up  the  results  of  the  battle 
on  the  mountain  and  his  pursuit  of  the  retreating  army  as  two 
hundred  killed  and  wounded,  a  thousand  taken  prisoners,  the 
baggage  of  the  entire  command  captured,  and  seven  guns  taken. 
"Our  success,"  he  wrote  to  "Washington,  "is  complete,  and 
Secession  is  killed  in  this  country." 

The  affair  of  Rich  Mountain  was  certainly  a  serious  disaster; 
it  involved  the  surrender  of  an  important  portion  of  ISorth- 
western  Virginia  ;  but  with  respect  to  the  courage  and  dis- 
cipline of  our  troops,  it  had  exhibited  all  that  could  be  desired, 
and  the  successful  retreat  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in 
history.  It  is  certain  that  the  unskilful  disposition  of  our 
troops,  as  well  as  their  inadequate  numbers,  had  contributed 
to  the  success  of  the  enemy,  and  doubts  are  admissible  whether 
more  advantage  might  not  have  been  taken  of  the  position  at 
Carrock's  Ford,  with  proper  supports,  considering  the  extra- 
ordinary advantages  of  defence,  and  how  long  it  had  been  held 
against  the  forces  of  the  pursuing  enemy  by  a  single  regiment. 

A  feeling  of  deep  sympathy,  however,  was  felt  for  the  un- 
fortunate commander,  whose  courage,  patriotic  ardour,  and 
generous,  because  unnecessary,  exposure  of  his  person  to  the 
bullets  of  the  enemy,  commended  his  memory  to  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen. 

"Whatever  might  have  been  the  depression  of  the  public  mind 


104  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

of  the  South  by  the  Rich  Mountain  disaster,  it  was  more  than 
recovered  by  news  from  other  quarters.  The  same  day  that 
the  unfavorable  intelligence  from  Rich  Mountain  reached  the 
government  at  Richmond,  the  telegraph  brought',  by  a  devious 
route,  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Carthage  in  Missouri.  The 
blow  given  to  the  enemy  at  this  distant  point,  was  the  first  of 
the  brilliant  exploits  which  afterwards  made  the  Missouri  cam- 
paign one  of  the  most  brilliant  episodes  of  the  war.  It  had 
gone  far  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  an  empire  that  was  here- 
after to  be  added  to  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  assure  the 
promise  that  had  been  made  in  the  proclamation  of  the  gallant 
General  Price  of  that  State — "  a  million  of  such  people  as 
the  citizens  of  Missouri  were  never  yet  subjugated,  and,  if 
attempted,  let  no  apprehension  be  felt  for  the  result."  But  of 
this  hereafter. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  Federal  Con- 
gress met  at  Washington.  Galusha  A.  Grow,  a  Pennsylvania 
Abolitionist,  and  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  the  war,  was 
elected  Speaker  of  the  House.  The  meeting  of  this  Congress 
afford^  a  suitable  period  for  a  statement  of  the  posfure  of  po- 
litical affairs,  and  of  the  spirit  which  animated  the  North,  with, 
respect  to  existing  hostilities. 

In  his  message,  Mr.  Lincoln  denounced  the  idea  of  any  of 
the  States  preserving  an  armed  neutrality  in  the  war,  having 
particular  reference  to  the  continued  efforts  of  Governor  Ma- 
goffin, of  Kentucky,  to  maintain  a  condition  of  neutrality  on 
the  part  of  that  State.  Mr.  Lincoln  declared  that  if  armed 
neutrality  were  permitted  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  States,  it 
would  soon  ripen  into  Disunion  ;  that  it  would  build  impassable 
walls  along  the  line  of  separation  ;  and  it  would  tie  the  hands 
of  the  Unionists,  while  it  would  free  those  of  the  Insurrection- 
ists, by  taking  all  the  trouble  from  Secession,  except  that  which 
might  be  expected  from  the  external  blockade.  Neutrality,  he 
said,  gave  to  malcontents  Disunion  without  its  risks,  and  was 
not  to  be  tolerated,  since  it  recognized  no  fidelity  to  the  Con- 
stitution or  obligation  to  the  Union. 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  105 

Kentucky  was  not  unreasonably  accounted  a  part  of  the 
Northern  government.  But  with  an  outrage  of  the  plainest 
doctrines  of  the  government,  and  a  practical  denial  not  only 
of  everything  like  the  rights  of  States,  but  even  of  their  terri- 
torial integrity,  the  Northwestern  portion  of  Virginia,  which 
had  rebelled  against  its  State  government,  was  taken  into  the 
membership  of  the  Federal  Union  as  itself  a  State,  with  the 
absurd  and  childish  addition  of  giving  to  the  rebellious  coun- 
ties the  name  of  "Virginia."  A  Convention  of  the  disaffected 
Northwestern  counties  of  Virginia  had  been  held  at  Wheeling, 
on  the  13th  day  of  May,  and,  after  a  session  of  three  days, 
decided  to  call  another  Convention,  to  meet  on  the  11th  of 
June,  subsequent  to  the  vote  of  the  State  on  the  Ordinance  of 
Secession.  The  Convention  re-organized  the  counties  as  a 
member  of  the  Federal  Union  :  F.  W.  Pierpont  was  elected 
Governor;  and  W.  T.  Willie  and  the  notorious  John  S.  Car- 
lile,  both  of  whom  had  already  signalized  their  treason  to  their 
State  by  their  course  in  the  Convention  at  Richmond,  were 
sent  as  representatives  of  "Virginia"  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  in  which  absurd  capacity  they  were  readily  received. 

The  message  of  the  President  gave  indications  of  a  deter- 
mined and  increased  prosecution  of  hostilities.  It  called  for 
an  army  of  four  hundred  thousand  men,  and  a  loan  of  four 
hundred  millions  of  dollars.  This  call  was  a  curious  commen- 
tary upon  the  spirit  and  resources  of  the  people,  who  it  had 
been  thought  in  the  North  would  be  crushed  out  by  the  three 
months'  levies  before  the  Federal  Congress  met  in  July  to  de- 
cide upon  what  disposition  should  be  made  of  the  conquered 
States. 

The  statements  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  fiscal  Secretary.were  alarm- 
ing enough ;  they  showed  a  state  of  the  treasury  unable  even 
to  meet  the  ordinary  expenditures  of  the  government,  and  its 
resources  were  now  to  be  taxed  to  the  last  point  of  ingenuity 
to  make  for  the  next  fiscal  year  the  necessary  provision  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty  millions  of  dollars  out  of  an  actual  revenue, 


106  THE    FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   "WAR. 

the  first  quarter  of  which  had  not  exceeded  five  millions.  The 
ordinary  expenditures  of  the  Federal  government  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30th,  1862,  were  estimated  at  eighty  millions 
of  dollars;  the  extraordinary  expenditures,  on  the  basis  of  in- 
creased military  operations,  at  four  hundred  millions.  To  meet 
these  large  demands  of  the  civil  and  Avar  service,  Secretary 
Chase  confessed  to  a  receipt  of  but  five  millions  per  quarter 
from  the  "Morrill"  Tariff,  showing  that,  at  this  rate  of  the 
receipt  of  customs,  the  income  of  the  government  would  be 
twenty  millions  per  year  against  nearly  five  hundred  millions 
of  prospective  outlay. 

It  was  proposed  in  this  financial  exigency  to  levy  specific, 
duties  of  about  thirty-three  per  cent,  on  coffee,  tea,  sugar,  mo- 
lasses and  syrup,  which  might  yield  twenty  millions  a  year ;  it 
was  hoped  by  some  modification  of  the  Morrill  Tariff,  with 
respect  to  other  articles,  to.  increase  its  productiveness  from 
twenty  to  thirty-seven  millions;  the  revenue  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands  was  estimated  at  three  millions;  and  it  was  timidly 
proposed,  that  a  tax  should  be  levied  upon  real  property  of  one- 
third  or  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent.,  to  produce  twenty  millions 
additional.     Thus,  by  means  of — 

The  Tariff. $37,000,000 

Tea,  Sugar  and  Coffee 20,000,000 

Public  Lands 3,000,000 

Direct  Taxes 20,000,000 

Producing  a  total  of $80,000,000 

the  Northern  government  proposed  to  eke  out  the  means  of 
meeting  its  ordinary  expenses,  leaving  the  monstrous  balance 
of  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  to  be  raised  by  a  sale  of 
bonds. 

The  financial  complications  of  the 'government  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln were  in  striking  contrast  with  the  abundant  and  easy 
means  by  which  the  Southern  Confederacy  had,  at  least  so  far, 
been  able  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  latter  had  been  reduced 
to  a  paper  currency,  but  it  had  for  the  basis  of  its  currency, 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  107 

the  great  staple  of  cotton,*  which  in  the  shape  of  a  produce 
loan  was  practically  pledged  to  the  redemption  of  the  public 
debt.  Prospects  were  entertained  of  a  speedy  raising  of  the 
blockade,  the  disappointment  of  which,  at  a  later  day,  drove 
the  Confederacy  to  other  expedients  of  revenue  in  a  war  tax, 
&c. ;  but,  at  the  time  of  the  comparison  of  the  financial  condi- 
tion of  the  two  governments,  the  Confederate  currency  was  ac- 
counted quite  as  good  as  gold,  as  the  cotton  and  tobacco  once 
in  the  market  would  afford  the  Southern  government  the  instant 
means  to  discharge  every  cent  of  its  indebtedness. 

The  Federal  Congress  commenced  its  work  in  a  spirit  that 
essentially  tended  to  revolutionize  the  political  system  and  ideas 
of  the  North  itself.  It  not  only  voted  to  Mr.  Lincoln  the  men 
and  supplies  he  asked  for,  but  the  first  days  of  its  session  were 
signalized  by  a  resolution  to  gag  all  propositions  looking  to- 
wards peace,  or  anything  else  than  a  prosecution  of  the  war; 
by  another,  to  approve  the  acts  done  by  the  President  without 
constitutional  authority,  including  his  suspension  of  the  habeas 
corjnis  ;  and  by  the  introduction  of  a  bill  to  confiscate  the  pro- 
perty of  "  rebels." 

The  pages  of  history  do  not  afford  a  commensurate  instance 
of  the  wide  opposition  in  the  social  and  political  directions  of 
tv^o  nations  who  had  so  long  lived  in  political  union  and  inter- 
course as  the  North  and  the  South.  While  the  latter  was  daily 
becoming  more  conservative  and  more  attached  to  existing  in- 
8titutions,f  the   North  was  as  rapidly  growing   discontented, 

*  The  whole  cotton  crop  of  America,  in  18G0,  was  4,075,770  bales;  and  of 
this,  3,697,727  bales  were  exported,  and  978,043  bales  used  at  home.  Eng- 
land alone  took  2,582,000  bales,  which  amounted  to  about  four-fifths  of  her 
entire  consumption.  The  cotton  fields  of  the  Southern  States  embrace  an 
area  of  500,000  square  miles,  and  the  capital  invested  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  plant  amounts  to  $900,000,000.  Seventy  years  ago,  the  exports  of  our 
cotton  were  only  420  bales — not  one-tenth  of  the  amount  furnished  by  several 
countries  to  England.  Now,  the  South  furnishes  five-sevenths  of  the  surplus 
cotton  product  of  the  entire  world. 

f  A  type  of  the  conservatism  of  the  Southern  revolution — its  attachment  to 
the  past — was  vividly  displayed  in  the  adoption  of  its  national  ensign,  a  blue 
union  with  a  circle  of  stars  and  longitudinal  bars,  red,  white  and  red,  in  place 


108  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

restless,  radical  and  revolutionary.  The  people  of  the  North 
had  passed  the  stage  of  pure  Democracy,  and  inaugurated  mili- 
tary despotism.  They,  in  effect,  had  changed  their  form  of 
government,  while  vainly  attempting  to  preserve  their  territo- 
rial ascendancy.  They  charged  the  South  "with  attempting 
revolution,  when  it  was  only  fighting  for  independence ;  while 
they,  themselves,  actually  perpetrated  revolution  rather  than 
forego  the  advantages  of  a  partial  and  iniquitous  Union.  The 
South  in  the  midst  of  a  war  of  independence — a  war  waged  not 
to  destroy,  but  to  preserve  existing  institutions — was  recurring 
to  the  past,  and  proposing  to  revive  conservative  ideas  rather 
than  to  run  into  new  and  rash  experiments. 

The  war  had  already  developed  one  great  moral  fact  in  the 
North  of  paramount  interest.  It  was  the  entire  willingness  of 
the  people  to  surrender  their  constitutional  liberties  to  any 
government  that  would  gratify  their  political  passions. 

This' peculiarity  of  the  condition  of  Northern  society,  was 
more  significant  of  its  disintegration  and  revolutionary  destiny 
than  all  the  other  circumstances  and  consequences  of  the  war  com- 
bined, in  loss  of  trade,  prostration  of  commerce,  and  poverty  and 

of  "  the  stripes"  of  the  flag  of  the  old  government.  The  present  Confederate 
flag  was  ballotted  for  in  the  Provisional  Congress,  and  was  selected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  votes  out  of  four  different  models.  At  the  time  of  the  early  session 
of  Congress  at  Montgomery,  the  popular  sentiment  was  almost  unanimous, 
and  very  urgent,  that  the  main  features  of  the  old  Federal  Constitution  should 
be  copied  into  the  new  government,  and  that  to  follow  out  and  give  expression 
to  this  idea,  the  flag  should  be  as  close  a  copy  as  possible  of  the  Federal 
ensign.  A  resolution  was  introduced  in  the  Provisional  Congress  to  the  effect 
that  the  flag  should  be  as  little  different  as  possible  from  that  of  the  Federal 
government;  which  resolution  was  vigorously  opposed  by  Mr.  Miles,  of  South 
Carolina,  who  was  then  chairman  of  the  Flag  Committee.  The  design  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Miles,  but  voted  down,  has  since  been  adopted  as  the  battle 
flag  of  Generals  Johnston  and  Beauregard.  It  is  a  blue  saltier,  (or  Maltese 
cross,)  with  inner  rows  of  stars,  on  a  red  field— the  emblem  of  the  saltier, 
(saltere,  to  leap,)  being  appropriately  that  of  progress  and  power.  The  two 
other  competing  designs,  from  which  our  present  flag  was  selected,  were,  one, 
an  almost  exact. reproduction  of  the  Federal  stars  and  stripes,  the  only  varia- 
tion being  that  of  a  blue  stripe,  and  the  other  a  simple  blue  circle  or  rim  on  a 
red  field.  The  consideration  that  determined  the  selection  of  the  present  flag 
was  its  similarity  to  that  of  the  old  government. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  109 

hunger  of  the  people.  It  was  the  corruption  of  the  public 
virtue.  The  love  of  constitutional  liberty  was  degraded  to  po- 
litical hatreds.  While  these  were  gratified,  the  Northern  people 
were  willing  to  surrender  their  liberties  to  their  panderers  at 
Washington.  Without  protest,  without  opposition,  in  silent 
submission,  or  even  in  expressions  stimulating  and  encouraging 
the  despot  who  stript  them  of  their  rights,  to  still  further  ex- 
cesses, they  had  seen  every  vestige  of  constitutional  liberty 
swept  away,  while  they  imagined  that  their  greed  of  resentment 
towards  the  South  was  to  be  satisfied  to  its  fill.  They  had  seen 
the  liberties  of  the  people  strangled,  even  in  States  remain- 
ing in  the  Union.  They  had  seen  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
denied,  not  only  by  the  minions  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
Maryland,  but  by  the  commanding  officers  of  Forts  Hamilton 
and  Lafayette.  They  had  seen,  not  only  the  rights  of  free 
speech,  but  the  sanctity  even  of  private  correspondence,  violated 
by  the  seizure  of  dispatches  in  their  own  telegraph  offices.  They 
had  seen  the  law  of  the  drum-head  not  only  established  in  Bal- 
timore, but  measures  to  subvert  their  own  municipal  liberties, 
inaugurated  by  a  system  of  military  police  for  the  whole  Fede- 
ral Union.  They  had  suffered  without  protestation  these  mon- 
strous violations  of  the  Constitution  under  which  they  professed 
to  live.  They  had  not  only  suffered,  but  had  endorsed  them. 
They  had  not  only  done  this,  but  they  had  applauded  in  this 
government  of  Abraham  Lincoln  violations  of  honour,  morality 
and  truth,  more  infamous  than  excesses  of  authority. 


110  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  "Grand  Army"  of  the  North. ..General  McDowell. ..The  Affair  of  Bull 
Run. ..An  Artillery  Duel. ..The  Battle  of  Manassas. .."On  to  Richmond"... 
Scenery  of  the  Battle  Field. ..Crises  in  the  Battle. ^Devoted  Courage  of  the 
Confederates. ..The  Rout... How  the  News  was  Received  in  Washington... How 
it  was  Received  in  the  South. ..General  Bee. ..Colonel  Bartow. ..The  Great 
Errour... General  Johnston's  Excuses  for  not  Advancing  on  Washington. ..Inci- 
dents of  the  Manassas  Battle. 

The  month  of  July  found  confronting  the  lines  of  the  Poto- 
mac two  of  the  largest  armies  that  this  continent  had  ever 
seen.  The  confidence  of  the  North  in  the  numbers,  spirit  and 
appointments  of  its  "Grand  Army"  was  insolent  in  the  ex- 
treme. It  was  thought  to  be  but  an  easy  undertaking  for  it 
to  march  to  Richmond,  and  plant  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in 
Capitol  Square.  An  advance  was  urged  not  only  by  the 
popular  clamour  of  "  On  to  Richmond,"  but  by  the  pressure 
of  extreme  parties  in  Congress,  and  when  it  was  fully  resolved 
upon,  the  exhilaration  was  extreme,  and  the  prospect  of  the 
occupation  of  Richmond  in  ten  days  was  entertained  with 
every  variety  of  public  joy. 

Nothing  had  been  left  undone  to  complete  the  preparations 
of  the  Northern  army.  In  numbers  it  was  immense ;  it  was 
provided  with  the  best  artillery  in  the  world ;  it  comprised, 
besides  its  immense  force  of  volunteers,  all  the  regulars  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  number  of  about  ten  thousand, 
collected  since  February,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  from  Jef- 
ferson Barracks,  from  St.  Louis  and  from  Fortress  Monroe. 
Making  all  allowances  for  mistakes,  we  are  warranted  in  say- 
ing that  the  Northern  army  consisted  of  at  least  fifty-five 
re'giments  of  volunteers,  eight  companies  of  regular  infantry 
four  of  marines,  nine  of  regular  cavalry  and  twelve  batteries, 
forty-nine  guns.    This  army  was  placed  at  the  command  of  one 


THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  Ill 

"who  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  greatest  and  most  scientific 
general  in  the  North — General  McDowell.  This  officer  had  a 
reputation  in  the  army  of  being  a  stoic  philosopher — a  reputa- 
tion sought  after  by  a  certain  number  of  West  Point  pupils. 

General  Beauregard  was  fully  informed  of  the  movements  of 
McDowell.  The  vaunting  and  audacious  declaration  of  the 
enemy's  purpose  to  force  his  position,  and  press  on  to  Rich- 
mond, was  met  by  firm  and  busy  preparations  for  the  crisis. 
It  was  no  mean  crisis.  It  was  to  involve  the  first  important 
shock  of  arms  between  two  peoples  who,  from  long  seasons 
of  peace  and  prosperity,  had  brought  to  the  struggle  more 
than  ordinary  resources  and  splendours  of  war. 

The  decisive  battle  was  preceded  by  the  important  affair  of 
Bull  Run,  a  brief  sketch  of  which,  as  a  precursor  to  the  events 
of  the  21st  of  July,  furnishes  an  intelligent  introduction  to  the 
designs  of  the  enemy,  and  alike  to  the  complicated  plan  and 
glorious  issue  of  the  great  battle  that,  through  the  sultry  heats 
of  a  whole  day,  wrestled  over  the  plains  of  Manassas. 

Bull  Run  constitutes  the  northern  boundary  of  that  county 
which  it  divides  from  Fairfax;  and  on  its  memorable  banks, 
about  three  miles  to  the  northwest  of  the  junction  of  the 
Manassas  Gap  with  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  was 
fought  the  gallant  action  of  the  18th  of  July.  It  is  a  small 
stream,  running  in  this  locality,  nearly  from  West  to  East,  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Occoquan  River,  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  Potomac,  and  draining  a  considerable  scope  of  coun- 
try, from  its  source  in  Bull  Run  Mountain  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  Potomac  at  Occoquan.  Roads  traverse  and 
intersect  the  surrounding  country  in  almost  every  direction. 
The  banks  of  the  stream  are  rocky  and  steep,  but  abound  in 
long-used  fords.  At  Mitchell's  Ford,  the  stream  is  about 
equidistant  between  Centreville  and  Manassas,  some  six  miles 
apart.  •  • 

Anticipating  the  determination  of  the  enemy  to  advance  on 
Manassas,  General  Beauregard  had  withdrawn  his  advanced 
brigades  within  the  lines  of  Bull  Run.     On  the  morning  of 


112  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

i 

the  17th  of  July,  our  troops  rested  on  Bull  Run,  from  Union 
Mill's  Ford  to  the  Stone  Bridge,  a  distance  of  about  eight 
miles.  The  next  morning  the  enemy  assumed  a  threatening 
attitude.  Appearing  in  heavy  force  in  front  of  the  position 
of  General  Bonha'm's  brigade,  which  held  the  approaches  to 
Mitchell's  .Ford,  the  enemy,  about  meridian,  opened  fire  with 
several  20-pounder  rifle  guns  from  a  hill  over  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  Bull  Run.  At  first,  the  firing  of  the  enemy  was  at 
random;  but,  by  half-past  12  P.  M.,  he  had  obtained  the 
range  of  our  position  and  poured  into  the  brigade  a  shower  of 
shot,  but  without  injury  to  us  in  men,  horses  or  guns.  Our 
fire  was  reserved,  and  our  troops  impatiently  awaited  the 
opportune  moment. 

In  a  fewr  moments,  a  light  battery  was  pushed  forward  by 
the  enemy,  whereupon  Kemper's  battery,  which  was  attached 
to  Bonham's  brigade,  and  occupied  a  ridge  on  the  left  of  the 
Centreville  road,  threw  only  six  solid  shot,  with  the  remark- 
able effect  of  driving  back  both  the  battery  and  its  supporting 
force.  The  unexpected  display  of  skill  and  accuracy  in  our 
artillery  held  the  advancing  column  of  the  enemy  in  check, 
while  Kemper's  pieces  and  support  were  withdrawn  across 
Mitchell's  Ford,  to  a  point  previously  designated,  and  which 
commanded  the  direct  approaches  to  the  ford. 

In  the  meantime,  the  enemy  was  advancing  in  strong  col- 
umns of  infantry,  with  artillery  and  cavalry,  on  Blackburn's 
Ford,  which  was  covered  by  General  Longstreet's  brigade. 
The  Confederate  pickets  fell  back,  silently,  across  the  ford 
before  the  advancing  foe.  The  entire  southern  bank  of  the 
stream,  for  the  whole  front  of  Longstreet's  brigade,  was  cov- 
ered at  the  water's  edge  by  an  extended  line  of  skirmishers. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  steep  slopes  on  the  northern  bank  of 
the  stream,  the  enemy  approached  under  shelter,  in  heavy 
force,  within  less  than  one  hundred  yards  of  our  skirmishers. 
Before  advancing  his  infantry,  the  enemy  maintained  a  fire  of 
rifle  artillery  for  half  an  hour;  then  he  pushed  forward  a 
column  of  over  three  thousand  infantry  to  the  assault,  with 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  113 

such  a  weight  of  numbers  as  to  be  repelled  with  difficulty  by 
the  comparatively  small  force  of  not  more  than  twelve  hundred 
bayonets,  with  which  Brigadier-General  Longstreet  met  him 
with  characteristic  vigour  and  intrepidity.  The  repulse  of 
this  charge  of  the  enemy  was,  as  an  exhibition  of  the  devoted 
courage  of  our  troops,  the  most  brilliant  incident  of  the  day. 
Not  one  yard  of  entrenchment  or  one  rifle  pit  protected  the 
men  at  Blackburn's  Ford,  who,  with  rare  exceptions,  were,  on 
that  day,  the  first  time  under  fire,  and  who,  taking  and  main- 
taining every  position  ordered,  exceeded  in  cool,  self-possessed 
and  determined  courage  the  best  trained  veterans.  Twice  the 
enemy  was  foiled  and  driven  back  b}r  our  skirmishers  and 
Longsti'eet's  reserve  companies.  As  he  returned  to  the  con- 
test with  increased  numbers,  General  Longstreet  had  been 
reinforced  from  Early's  brigade  with  two  regiments  of  in- 
fantry and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  Unable  to  effect  a  passage 
of  the  stream,  the  enemy  kept  up  a  scattering  fire  for  some 
time.  The  fire  of  musketry  was  soon  silenced,  and  the  affair 
became  one  of  artillery.  The  enemy  was  superiour  in  the 
character  as  well  as  in  the  number  of  his  weapons,  provided 
with  improved  munitions  and  every  artillery  appliance,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  occupying  the  commanding  position.  The 
results  of  the  remarkable  artillery  duel  that  ensued  were  fit- 
ting precursors  to  the  achievements  of  the  twenty-first  of 
July  in  this  unexpectedly  brilliant  arm  of  our  service.  In  the 
onset,  our  fire  was  directed  'against  the  enemy's  infantry, 
whose  bayonets,  gleaming  above  the  tree-tops,  alone  indicated 
their  presence  and  force.  This  drew  the  attention  of  a  bat- 
tery placed  on  a  high,  commanding  ridge,  and  the  duel  began 
in  earnest.  For  a  time,  the  aim  of  the  adversary  was  inaccu- 
rate, but  this  was  quickly  corrected,  and  shot  fell  and  shells 
b.urst  thick  and  fast  in  the  very  midst  of  our  battery.  From  the 
position  of  our  pieces  and  the  nature  of  the  ground,  t^eir  aim 
could  only  be  directed  by  the  smoke  of  the  enemy's  artillery; 
how  skilfully  and  with  what  execution  this  was  done  can  only  be 
realized  by  an  eye-witness.  For  a  few  moments,  the  guns  of  the 
8 


114  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

enemy  were  silenced,  but  were  soon  re-opened.  By  direction  of 
General  Longstreet,  his  buttery  was  then  advanced,  by  hand, 
out  of  the  range  now  ascertained  by  the  enemy,  and  a  shower 
•f  spherical  case,  shell  and  round  shot  flew  over  the  heads  of 
our  gunners.  From  this  new  position  our  guns  fired  as  before, 
with  no  other  aim  than  the  smoke  and  flash  of  their  adversa- 
ries' pieces,  and  renewed  and  urged  the  conflict  with  such  signal 
rigour  and  effect,  that  gradually  the  fire  of  the  enemy  slack- 
ened, the  intervals  between  their  discharges  grew  longer  and. 
longer,  finally  to  cfease;  and  we  fired  a  last  gun  at  a  baffled, 
flying  foe,  whose  heavy  masses  in  the  distance  were  plainly 
seen  to  break  and  scatter  in  wild  confusion  and  utter  rout, 
strewing  the  ground  with  cast-away  guns,  hats,  blankets  and 
knapsacks,  as  our  parting  shell  was  thrown  among  them. 

Thus  ended  the  brilliant  action  of  Bull  Run.  The  gun3 
engnged  in  the  singular  artillery  conflict  on  our  side  were 
three  six-pounder  rifle  pieces  and  four  ordinary  six- pounders, 
all  of  Walton's  battery — the  Washington  Artillery,  of  New 
Orleans.  Our  casualties  Were  unimportant — fifteen  killed  and 
fifty-three  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  can  only  be  con- 
jectured ;  it  was  unquestionably  heavy.  In  the  cursory  examina- 
tion, which  was  made' by  details  from  Longstreet's  and  Early's 
brigades,  on  the  18th  of  July,  of  that  portion  of  the  field 
immediately  contested  and  near  Blackburn's  Ford,  some  sixty- 
four  corpses  were  found  and  buried,  and  at  least  twenty  pri- 
soners were  also  picked  up,  besides  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  stands  of  arms,  and  a  large  quantity  of  accoutrements  and 
blankets. 

The  effect  of  the' day's  conflict  was  to  satisfy  the  enemy 
that  he  could  not  force  a  passage  across  Bull  Run  in.the  face 
of  our  troops,  and  led  him  into  the  flank  movement  of  the  21st 
of  July  and  the  battle  of  Manassas. 

THE    BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS. 

General  Scott,  having  matured  his  plan  of  battle,  ordered 
General  McDowell  to  advance  on  Manassas  on  Sunday,  the 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  115 

21st  of  July — three  days  after  the  repulse  at  Bull  Run.  The 
movement  was  generally  known  in  Washington  ;  Congress  had 
adjourned  for  the  purpose  of  affording  its  members  an  oppor- 
tunity to  attend  the  battle-field,  and  a^  the  crowds  of  camp 
followers  and  spectators,  consisting  of  politicians,  fashionable 
women,  idlers,  sensation-hunters,  editors,  &c,  hurried  in  car- 
riages, omnibuses,  gigs  and  every  conceivable  style  of  vehicle 
across  the  Fotomac  in  the  direction  of  the  army,  the  constant 
and  unfailing  jest  was,  that  they  were  going  on  a  visit  to  Rich- 
mond. The  idea  of  the  defeat  of  the  Grand  Army,  which,  in 
show,'1  splendid  boast  and  dramatic  accessories,  exceeded  any- 
thing that  had  ever  been  seen  in  America,  seems  never  to  have 
crossed  the  minds  of  the  politicians  who  went  prepared  with 
carriage  loads  of  champagne  for  festal  celebration  of  the 
victory  that  was  to  be  won,  or  of  the  fair  dames  who  were 
equipped  with  opera  glasses  to  entertain  themselves  with  the 
novel  scenes  of  a  battle  and  the  inevitable  rout  of  "rebels." 
The  indecencies  of  this  exhibition  of  morbid  curiosity  and  ex- 
ultant hate  are  simply  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  civilized 
nations.  Mr.  Russell,  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  an 
eye-witness  of  the  scene,  describes  the  concourse  of  carriages 
and  gaily-dressed  spectators  in  the  rear  of  the  army  on  the 
morning  of  the  battle  of  Manassas  as  like  a  holiday  exhibition 
on.  a  race- course. 

The  scene  was  an  extraordinary  one.  It  had  a  beauty  and 
grandeur,  apart  from  the  revolting  spectacle  of  the  indecent 
and  bedizzened  rabble  that  watched  from  a  hill  in  the  rear  of 
the  army  the  dim  outlines  of  the  battle,  and  enjoyed  the 
nervous  emotions  of  the  thunders  of  its  artillery.  The  gay 
•uniforms  of  the  Northern  soldiers,  their  streaming  flags  and 
glistening  bayonets,  added  strange  charms  to  the  primeval 
forests  of  Virginia.  No  theatre  of  battle  could  have  been 
more  magnificent  in  its  address  to  the  eye".  The  plains, 
broken  by  a  wooded  and  intricate  country,  were  bounded  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach  to  the  west  by  the  azure  combs  of 
the  Blue  Ridge.      The  quiet  Sabbath  morning  opened  upon 


116  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   "WAR. 

the  scene  enlivened  by  moving  masses  of  men  ;  the  "red  lights 
of  the  morning,  however,  had  scarcely  broken  upon  that  scene, 
with  its  landscapes,  its  forests  and  its  garniture,  before  it  was 
obscured  in  the  clouds,  of  battle.  For  long  intervals  nothing 
of  the  conflict  was  presented  to  those  viewing  it  at  a  distance, 
but  wide  and  torn  curtains  of  smoke  and  dust  and  the  endless 
beat  of  the  artillery. 

Orders  had  been  issued  by  McDowell  for  the  Grand  Army 
to  be  in  motion  by  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
first,  and  en  route  for  their  different  positions  in  time  to  reach 
them  and  be  in  position  by  the  break  of  day.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  they  should  have  four  days'  rations  cooked  and 
stored  away  in  their  haversacks — evidently  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  Manassas  and  holding  it,  until  their  supplies  should 
reach  them  by  the  railroad  from  Alexandria.  Thus  stood  the 
arrangements  of  the  Northern  forces  on  the  evening  preceding 
the  battle  of  the  twenty-first. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  of  the  battle  of  Manassas, 
that  it  was  fought  on  our  side  without  any  other  plan  than  to 
suit  the  contingencies  arising  out  of  the  development  of  the 
enemy's  designs,  as  it  occurred  in  the  progress  of  the  action. 
Several  plans  of  battle  had  been  proposed  by  General  Beaure- 
gard, but  had  been  defeated  by  the  force  of  circumstances. 
He  had  been  unwilling  to  receive  the  enemy  on  the  defensive 
line  of  Bull  Run,  and  had  determined  on  attacking  him  at 
Centreville.  In  the  meantime,  General  Johnston  had  been 
ordered  to  form  a  junction  of  his  army  corps  with  that  of 
General  Beauregard,  should  the  movement,  in  his  judgment, 
be  deemed  advisable.  The  best  service  which  the  army  of  the 
Shenandoah  could  render  was  to  prevent  the  defeat  of  that  of  • 
the  Potomac.  To  be  able  to  do  this,  it  was  necessary  for 
General  Johnston  to  defeat  General  Patterson  or  to  elude  him. 
The  latter  course  was  the  most  speedy  and  certain,  and  was, 
therefore,  adopted.  Evading  the  enemy  by  the  disposition  of 
the  advance  guard  under  Colonel  Stuart,  our  army  moved 
through  Ashby's  Gap  to  Piedmont,  a  station  of  the  Manassas 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  117 

Gap  railroad.  Hence,  the  infantry  were  to  be  transported  by 
the  railway,  while  the  cavalry  and  artillery  were  ordered  to 
continue  their  march.  General  Johnston  reached  Manassas 
about  noon  on  the  twentieth,  preceded  by  the  7th  and  8th 
Georgia  regiments  and  by  Jackson's  brigade,  consisting  of  the 
2d,  4th,  5th,.  27th  and  33d  Virginia  regiments.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  General  Bee,  with  the  4th  Alabama,  the  2d  and 
two  companies  of  the  11th  Mississippi.  The  president  of  the 
railroad  had  assured  him  that  the  remaining  troops  should 
arrive  during  the  day. 

General  Johnston  being  the  senior  in  rank,  necessarily 
assumed'  command  of  all  the  forces  of  the  Confederate  States 
then  concentrating  at  Manassas.  He,  however,  approved  the 
plans  of  General  Beauregard,  and  generously  directed  their 
execution  under  his  command.  It  was  determined  that  the 
two  forces  should  be  united  within  the  lines  of  Bull  Run,  and 
thence  advance  to  the  attack  of  the  enemy,  before  Patterson's 
junction  with  McDowell,  which  was  daily  expected.  The  plan 
of  battle  was  again  disconcerted.  In  consequence  of  the  un- 
toward detention  on  the  railroad  of  some  five  thousand  of  Gen. 
Johnston's  forces  that  had  been  expected  to  reach  Manassas 
prior  to  the  battle,  it  became  necessary,  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-first,  before  daylight,  to  modify  the  plan  accepted,  to 
suit  the  contingency  of  an  immediate  attack  on  our  lines  by 
the  main  force  of  the  enemy,  then  plainly  at  hand.  It  thus 
happened  that  a  battle  ensued,  different  in  place  and  circum- 
stance from  any  previous  plan  on  our  side. 

Our  effective  force  of  all  arms,  ready  for  action  on  the  field 
on  the  eventful  morning,  was  less  than  thirty  thousand  men. 
'  Our  troops  were  divided  into  eight  brigades,  occupying  the 
defensive  line  of  Bull  Run.  Brigadier-General  Swell's  was 
posted  at  the  Union  Mill's  Ford  ;  Brigadier-General  D.  R. 
Jones'  at  McLean's  Ford;  Brigadier-General  Longstreet's  at 
Blackburn's  Ford  ;  Brigadier-General  Bonham's  at  Mitchell's 
Ford ;  Colonel  Cocke's  at  Ball's  Ford,  some  three  miles  above, 
and  Colonel  Evans,  with  a  regiment  and  battalion,  formed  the 


118  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

extreme  left  at  the  Stone  Bridge.  The  brigades  of  Brigadier- 
General  Holmes  and  Colonel  Early  were  in  reserve  in  rear  of 
the  right. 

In  his  entire  ignorance  of  the  enemy's  plan  of  attack,  Gen- 
eral Beauregard  was  compelled  to  keep  his  army  posted  along 
the  stream  for  some  eight  or  ten  miles,  while  his  wily  adver- 
sary developed  his  purpose  to  him.  The  subsequent  official 
reports  of  McDowell  and  his  officers  show  that  that  com- 
mander had  abandoned  his  former  purpose  of  marching  on 
Manassas  by  the  lower  routes  from  Washington  and  Alexan- 
dria, and  had  resolved  upon  turning  the  left  flank  of  the 
Confederates. 

The  fifth  division  of  his  Grand  Army,  composed  of  at  least 
four  brigades,  under  command  of  General  Miles,  was  to  re- 
main at  Centreville,  in  reserve,  and  to  make  a  false  attack  on 
Blackburn's  and  Mitchell's  Fords,  and  thereby  deceive  Gene- 
ral Beauregard  as  to  its  intention.  The  first  division,  com- 
posed of  at  least  three  briga'des,  commanded  by  General  Tyler, 
was  to  take  position  at  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  feign  an  attack 
upon  that  point.  The  third  division,  composed  of  at  least 
three  brigades  commanded  by  Heintzelman,  was  to  proceed  as 
quietly  as  possible  to  the  Red  House  Ford,  and  there  remain, 
until  the  troops  guarding  that  ford  should  be  cleared  away. 
The  second  division,  composed  of  three  or  four  brigades,  com- 
manded by  'Hunter,  was  to  march,  unobserved  by  the  Con- 
federate troops,  to  Sudley,  and  there  cross  over  the  run  and 
move  down  the  stream  to  the  Red  House  Ford,  and  clear 
away  any  troops  that  might  be  guarding  that  point,  where  he 
was  to  be  joined  by  the  third  or  Heintzelman's  division. 
Together,  these  two  divisions  were  to  charge  upon,  and  drive 
away,  any  troops  that  might  be  stationed  at  the  Stone  Bridge, 
when  Tyler's  division  was  to  cross  over  and  join  them,  and 
thus  produce  a  junction  of  three  formidable  divisions  of  the 
Grand  Army  across  the  run,  for  offensive  operations  against 
the  forces  of  General  Beauregard,  which  the  enemy  expected 
to  find  scattered  along  the  run  for  seven  or  eight  miles — the 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  TIIE   WAR.  119 

bulk  of  them  being  at  and  below  Mitchell's  Ford,  and  so  situ- 
ated as  to  render  a  concerted  movement  by  them  utterly  im- 
practicable. 

Soon  after  sunrise,  the  enemy  appeared  in  force  in  front  of 
Colonel  E\ans'  position  at  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  openi'd  a 
light  cannonade.  The  monstrous  inequality  of  the  two  forces 
at  this  point  was  not  developed.  Colonel  Evans  only  observed 
in  his  immediate  front  the  advance  portion  of  General  Schenck's 
brigade  of  General  Tyler's  division  and  two  other  heavy  bri- 
gades. This  division  of  the  enemy's  forces  numbered  nine 
thousand  men  and  thirteen  pieces  of  artillery — Carlisle's  and 
Ayres'  batteries — that  is,  nine  hundred  men  and  two  six- 
pounders  confronted  by  nine  thousand  men  and  thirteen  pieces 
of  artillery,  mostly  rifled. 

A  movement  was  instantly  determined  upon  by  General 
Beauregard  to  relieve  his  left  flank,  by  a  rapid,  determined 
attack  with  his  right  wing  and  centre  on  the  enemy's  flank 
and  rear  at  Centrcville,  with  precautions  against  the  advance 
of  his  reserves  from  the  direction  of  Washington. 

In  the  quarter  of  the  Stone  Bridge,  the  two  armies  stood 
for  more  than  an  hour  engaged  in  slight  skirmishing,  while 
t.ic  main  body  of  the  enemy  was  marching  his  devious  way 
through  the  "Big  Forest,"  to  cross  Bull  Run  some  two  miles 
above  our  left,  to  take  our  forces  in  flank  and  rear.  This 
movement  was  fortunately  discovered  in  time  for  us  to  check 
its  progress,  and  ultimately  to  form  a  new  line  of  battle  nearly 
at  right  angles  with  the  defensive  line  of  Bull  Run. 

On  discovering  that  the  enemy  had  crossed  the  stream 
above  him,  Colonel  Evans  moved  to  the  left  with  eleven  com- 
panies and  two  field  pieces  to  oppose  his  advance,  and  dis- 
posed his  little  force  under  cover  of  the  wood,  near  the  inter- 
section of  the  Warrenton  turnpike  and  the  Sudley  road. 
Here  he  was  attacked  by  the  enemy  in  immensely  superiour 
numbers.  » 

The  enemy,  beginning  his  detour  from  the  turnpike,  at  5 
point  nearly  half-way  between  Stone  Bridge  and  Centreville, 


120  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

had  pursued  a  tortuous,  narrow  track  of  a  rarely  used  road, 
through  a  dense  wood,  the  greater  part  of  his  way  until* neaY 
the  Sudley  road.  A  division,  under  Colonel  Hunter,  of  the 
Federal  regular  army,  of  two  strong  brigades,  was  in  the  ad- 
vance, followed  "immediately  by  another  division,  under  Colonel 
Heintzelman,  of  three  brigades,  and  seven  companies  of  regu- 
lar cavalry,  and  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery — eighteen  of 
which  were  rifle  guns.  This  column,  as  it  crossed  Bull  Run, 
numbered  over  sixteen  thousand  men,  of  all  arms,  by  their  own 
accounts. 

Eurnside's  brigade — which  here,  as  at  Fairfax  Court-house, 
led  the  advance — at  about  9.45  A.  M.,  debouched  from  a  wood 
in  sight  of  Evans'  position,  some  five  hundred  yards  distant 
from  Wheat's  Louisiana  battalion.  He  immediately  threw  for- 
ward his  skirmishers  in  force,  and  they  became  engaged  with 
Wheat's  command.  The  Federalists  at  once  advanced,  as  they 
report  officially,  the  2d  Rhode  Island  regiment  volunteers,  with 
its  vaunted  battery  of  six  thirteen-pouncler  rifle  guns.  Sloan's 
companies  of  the  4th  South  Carolina  were  then  brought  into 
action,  having  been  pushed  forward  through  the  woods.  The 
enemy,  soon  galled  and  staggered  by  the  fire  and  pressed  by 
the  determined  valour  with  which  Wheat  handled  his  battalion, 
until  he  was  desperately  Avounded,  hastened  up  three  other 
regiments  of  the  brigade  and  two  Dahlgreen  howitzers,  making 
in  all  quite  three  thousand  five  hundred  bayonets  and  eight 
pieces  of  artillery,  opposed  to  less  than  eight  hundred  men  and 
two  six-pounder  guns. 

Despite  this   odds,  this  intrepid  command,  of  but  eleven 
weak  companies,  maintained  its  front  to  the  enemy  for  quite 
an  hour,  and  until  General  Bee  came  to  their  aid  with  his  - 
command. 

General  Bee  moving  towards  the  enemy,  guided  by  the 
firing,  had  selected  the  position  near  the  now  famous  "  Henry 
House,"  and  formed  his  troops  upon  it.  They  were  the  7th 
and  8th  Georgia  under  Colonel  Bartow, 'the  4th  Alabama,  2d 
Mississippi  and  two  companies  of  the  11th  Mississippi  regi- 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  121 

ments,  with  Imboden's  battery.  Being  compelled,  however, 
to  sustain  Colonel  Evans,  he  crossed  the  valley,  and  formed 
on  the  right  and  somewhat  in  advance  of  his  position,  llere 
the  joint  force,  little  exceeding  five  regiments,  with  six  field 
pieces,  held  the  ground  against  about  fifteen  thousand  Federal 
troops.  A  fierce  and  destructive  conflict  now  ensued — the  fire 
Was  withering  on  both  sides,  while  the  enemy  swept  our  short, 
thin  lines  with  their  numerous  artillery,  which,  according  to 
their  official  reports,  at  this  time  consisted  of  at  least'ten  rifle 
guns  and  four  howitzers.  For  an  hour  did  these  stout-hearted 
men,  of  the  blended  commands  of  Bee,  Evans  and  Bartow,, 
breast  an  unintermitting  battle-storm,  animated  surely  by 
something  more  than  the  ordinary  courage  of  .even  the  bravest 
men  under  fire. 

Two  Federal  briirades  of  Heintzelman's  division  were  now 
brought  into  action,  led  by  Ilickett's  superb  light  battery  of 
six  ten-pounder  rifle  guns,  which,  posted  on  ah  eminence  to 
the  right  of  the  Sudley  road,  opened  fire  on  Imboden's  bat- 
tery. At  this  time,  confronting  the  enemy,  Ave  had  still  but 
Evans'  eleven  companies  and  two  guns — Bee's  and  Bartow's 
four  regiments,  the  two  companies  11th  Mississippi  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Liddell,  and  the  six  pieces  under  Imboden 
and  Richardson.  The  enemy  had  two  divisions  of  four  strong 
brigades,  including  seventeen  companies  of  regular  infantry, 
cavalry  and  artillery,  four  companies  of  marines,  and  twenty 
pieces  of  artillery.  Against  this  odds,  scarcely  credible,  our 
advance  position  was  still  for  a  while  maintained,  and  the 
enemy's  ranks  constantly  broken  and  shattered  under  the 
scorching  fire  of  our  men  ;  but  fresh  regiments  of  the  Fede- 
rals came  upon 'the  field,  Sherman's  and  Key es' brigades  of 
Tyler's  division,  as  is  stated  in  their  reports,  numbering  over 
six^thousand  bayonets,  which  had  found  a  passage  across  the 
run,  about  eight  hundred  yards  above  the  Stone  Bridge,  threat- 
ened our  right. 

Heavy  losses  had  now  been  sustained  on  our  side,  both  in 
numbers  and  in  the  personal  worth  of   the  slain.     The    8th 


122  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   TIIE   WAR. 

Georgia  regiment  had  suffered  heavily,  being  exposed,  as  it 
took  and  maintained  its  position,  to  a  fire  from  the  enemy, 
already  posted  within  a  hundred  yards  of  their  front  and 
right,  sheltered  by  fences  and  other  cover.  The  4th  Alabama 
also  suffered  severely  from  the  deadly  fire  of  the  thousands  of 
muskets  which  they  so  dauntlessly  confronted  under  the  im- 
mediate leadership  of  the  chivalrous  Bee  himself. 

Now,  however,  with  the  surging  mass  of  over  fourteen  thou- 
sand FeYleral  infantry  pressing  on  their  front  and  under  the 
incessant  fire  of  at  least  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  with  the 
fresh  brigades  of  Sherman  and  Keyes  approaching — the  lat- 
ter already  in  musket  range — our  lines  gave  back,  but  under 
orders  from  General  Bee. 

As  our  shattered  battalions  retired,  the  slaughter  was  de- 
plorable. They  fell  back  in  the  direction  of  the  Robinson 
house,  under  the  fires  of  Heintzelman's  division  on  one  ride, 
Keyes'  and  Sherman's  brigades  of  Tyler's  division  on  the 
other,  and  Hunter's  division  in  their  rear,  and  were  compelled 
to  engage  the  enemy  at  several  points  on  their  retreat,  losing 
both  officers  and  men,  in  order  to  keep  them  from  closing  in 
around  them.  Under  the  inexorable  stress  of  the  enemy's 
fire  the  retreat  continued.  The  enemy  seemed  to  be  inspired 
with  the  idea  that  he  had  won  the  field;  the  news  of  a  victory 
was  carried  to  the  rear,  and,  in  less  than  an  hour  thereafter, 
the  telegraph  had  flashed  the  intelligence  through  all  the  cities 
in  the  North,  that  the  Federal  troops  were  completing  their 
victory,  and  premature  exultations  ran  from  mouth  to  mouth 
in  Washington. 

If  the  enemy  had  observed  the  circumstances  and  character 
of  this  falling  back  of  a  portion  of  our  lines,  it  would  have 
been  enough  to  have  driven  him  in 'consternation  from  the 
field.  With  the  terrible  desperation  thTlt  had  sustained  tbera 
so  long  in  the  face  of  five-fold  odds  and  the  most  frightful 
losses,  our  troops  fell  back  sullenly  ;  at  every  step  of  their  re- 
treat staying,  by  their  hard  skirmishing,  the  flanking  columns 
of  the  enemy. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  TIIE  WAR.  123 

The  retreat  was  finally  arrested  just  in  rear  of  the  Robin- 
son house  by  the  energy  and  resolution  of  General  Bee,  as- 
sisted by  the  support  of  the  Hampton  Legion  and  the  timely 
arrival  of  Jackson's  brigade  of  five  regiments.  A  moment 
before,  General  Bee  had  been  well-nigh  overwhelmed  by  su- 
periour  numbers.  He  approached  General  Jackson  with  the 
pathetic  exclamation,  "  General,  they  are  beating  us  back  ;  " 
to  which  the  latter  promptly  replied,  "Sir,  we'll  give  them  the 
bayonet."  General  Bee  immediately  rallied  his  over-tasked 
troops  with  the  words,  "  There  is  Jackson  standing  like  a 
stone-wall.  Let  us  determine  to  die  here,  and  we  will  con- 
quer." 

In  the  meantime,  the  crisis  of  the  battle  and  the  full  devel- 
opement  of  the  enemy's  designs  had  been  perceived  by  ouf 
generals.  They  were  yet  four  miles  away  from  the  immediate 
field  of  action,  having  placed  thenTselvcs  on  a  commanding 
hill  in  rear  of  General  Bonham's  left,  to  observe  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy.  ,  There  could  be  no  mistake  now  of  the 
enemy's  intentions,  from  the  violent  firing  on  the  left  and  the 
immense  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  march-  of  a  large  body 
of  troops  from  his  centre.  With  ths  keenest  impatience, 
General  Beauregard  awaited  the  execution  of  his  orders  of 
the  morning,  which  were  intended  to  relieve  his  lei t  flank  by 
an  attack  on  the  enemy's  flank  and  rear  at  Centreville.  As 
the  continuous  roll  of  musketry  and  the  sustained  din  of  the 
artillery  announced  the  serious  outburst  of  the  battle  on  our 
left  flank,  he  anxiously,  but  confidently,  awaited  similar  sounds 
of  conflict  from  our  front  at  Centreville.  When  it  was  too 
late  for  the  effective  execution  of  the  contemplated  movement, 
lie  was  informed,  to  his  profound  disappointment,  that  his 
orders  for  an  advance  had  miscarried. 

No  time  was  to  be  lost.  It  became  immediately  necessary 
to  depend  on  new  combinations,  and  to  meet  the  enemy  on  tho 
field  upon  which  he  had  chosen  to  give  us  battle.  It  was  plain 
that  nothing  but  the  most  rapid  combinations  and  the  most 
heroic  a^d  devoted  courage  on   the.  part  of  our  troops  could 


124  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

retrieve  the  field,  which,  according  to  all  military  conditions, 
appeared  to  be  positively  lost. 

About  noon,  the  scene  of  the  battle  was  unutterably  sub- 
lime. Not  until  then  could  one  of  the  present  generation, 
who  had  never  witnessed  a  grand  battle,  have  imagined  such 
a  spectacle.  The  hill  occupied  in  the  morning  by  Generals 
Beauregard,  Johnston  and  Bonham  and  their  staffs,  placed  the 
whole  scene  before  one — a  grand,  moving  diorama.  When 
the  firing  was  at  its  height,  the  roar  of'  artillery  reached  the 
hill  like  that  of  protracted  thunder.  For  one  long  mile  fhe 
whole  valley  was  a  boiling  crater  of  dust  and  smoke.  Occa- 
sionally the  yells  of  our  men,  in  the  few  instances  in  which 
the  enemy  fell  back,  rose  above  the  roar  of  artillery.  In  the 
distance  rose  the  Blue  Ridge,  to  form  the  dark  back-ground  of 
a  most  magnificent  picture. 

The  condition  of  the  battle-field  was  now,  at  the  least,  des- 
perate. Our  left  flank  was  overpowered,  and  it  became  neces- 
sary to  bring  immediate!}'  up  to  their  support  the  reserve  not 
already  in  motion.  Holmes'  two  regiments  and  battery  of 
artillery,  under  .Captain  Lindsey  Walker,  of  six  guns,  and 
Early's  brigade  were  immediately  ordered  up  to  support  our 
left  flank.  Two  regiments  from  Bonham' s  brigade,  with  Kem- 
per's four  six-pounders,  were  also  called  for,  and  Generals 
Ewell,  Jones  (D.  R.),  Long^treet  and  Bonham  were  directed 
to  make  a  demonstration  to  their  several  fronts  to  retain  and 
engross  the  enemy's  reserves  and  any  forces  on  their  flank, 
and  at  and  around  Centreville. 

Dashing  on  at  headlong  gallop,  General  Johnston  and  Gene- 
ral Beauregard  reached  the  field  of  action  not  a  moment  too 
soon.  They  were  instantly  occupied  with  the  re-organization 
of  the  heroic  troops,  whose  previous  stand  in  stubborn  and 
patriotic  valour  had  nothing  to  exceed  it  in  the  records  of  his- 
tory. It  was  now  that  General  Johnston  impressively  and 
gallantly  charged  to  the  front,  with  the  colours  of  the  4th 
Alabama  regiment  by  his  side.  The  presence  of  the  two 
generals  with  the  troops  under  fire  and  their  example,  had  the 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF. THE   WAR.  "   125' 

happiest  effect.  Order  was  soon  restored.  In  a  brief  and 
rapid  conference,  General  Beauregard  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  left,  which,  as  the  younger  officer,  he  claimed, 
while  General  Johnston  returned  to  that  of  the  whole  field. 

The  battle  was  now  re-established.  The  aspect  of  affairs 
was  critical  and  desperate  in  the  extreme. 

Confronting  the  enemy  at  this  time,  General  Beauregard's 
forces  numbered,  at  most,  not  more  tlian'  six  thousand  five 
hundred  infantry  and  artillerists,  with  but  thirteen  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  two  companies  of  Stuart's  cavalry. 

The  enemy's  force  now  bearing  hotly  and  confidently  down 
on  our  position — regiment  after  regiment  of  the  best  equipped 
men  that  ever  touk  the  field — according  to  their  own  official 
history  of  the  day,  was  formed  of  Colonels  Hunter's  and 
Heintzelman's  divisions,  Colonels  Sherman's  and  Kcyes'  bri- 
gades of  Tyler's  division,  and  of  the  formidable  batteries  of 
Ricketts,  Griffin  and  Arnold  regulars,  and  2d  Rhode  Island, 
and  two  Dahlgrecn  howitzers — a  force  of  over  twenty  thou- 
sand infantry,  seven  companies  of  regular  cavalry,  and  twenty- 
four  pieces  of  improved  artillery.  At  the  same  time,  perilous, 
heavy  reserves  of  infantry  and  artillery  hung  in  the  distance, 
around  the  Stone  Bridge,  Mitchell's,  Blackburn's  and  Union 
Mills'  Fords,  visibly  ready  to  fall  upon  us  at  any  moment. 

Fully  conscious  of  the  portentous  disparity  of  force,  General 
Beauregard,  as  he  posted  the  lines  for  the  encounter,  spoke 
words  of  encouragement  to  the  men  to  inspire  their  confidence 
and  determined  spirit  of  resistance.  He  urged  them  to  the 
resolution  of  victory  or  death  on  the  field.  The  men  responded 
with  loud  and  eager  cheers,  and  the  commander  felt  re  assured 
of  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  his  army. 

In-the  meantime,  the  enemy  had  seized  upon  the  plateau  on 
which  Robinson's  and  the  Henry  houses*  are  situated — the 
position  first  occupied  in  the  morning  by  General  Bee,  before 


*  These  houses  were  small  wooden  buildings,  occupied  at  the  time,  the 
one  by  the  widow  Henry  and  the  other  by  the  negro  Robinson. 


126  THE   FIRST.  FEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

advancing  to  the  support  of  Evans — Ricketts'  battery  of  six 
rifle  guns,  the  pride  of  the  Federalists,  the  object  of  their  un- 
stinted expenditure  in  outfit,  and  the  equally  powerful  regular 
light  battery  of  Griffin,  were  brought  forward  and  placed  in 
immediate  action,  after  having,  conjointly  with  the  batteries 
already  mentioned,  played  from  former  positions  with  destruc- 
tive effect  upon  our  forward  battalions. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  General  Beauregard 
gave  the  order  for  the  right  of  his  line,  except  his  reserves,  to 
advance  to  recover  the  plateau.  It  was  done  with  uncommon 
resolution  and  vigour,  and  at  the  same  time  Jackson's  brigade 
pierced  the  enemy's  centre  with  the  determination  of  veterans 
and  the  spirit  of  men  who  fight  for  a  sacred  cause ;  but  it  suf- 
fered seriously.  With  equal  spirit  the  other  parts  of  the  line 
made  the  onset,  and  the  Federal  lines  were  broken  and  swept 
back  at  all  points  from  the  open  ground  of  the  plateau.  Ral- 
lying soon,  however,  as  they  were  strongly  reinforced  by  fresh 
regiments,  the  Federals  returned,  and,  by  the  weight  of  num- 
bers, pressed  our  lines  buck,  recovered  their  ground  and  guns, 
and  renewed  the  offensive. 

By  tli is  time,  between  half-past  2  and  5  o'clock,  P.  M., 
our  reinforcements  pushed  forward,  and  directed  by  General 
Johnston,  to  the  required  quarter,  were  at  hand  just  as  Gene- 
ral Beauregard  had  ordered  forward,  to  a  second  effort,  for 
the  recovery  of  the  disputed  plateau,  the  whole  line,  including 
his  reserve,  which,  at  this  crisis  of  the  battle,  the  commander 
felt  called  upon  to  lead  in  person.  This  attack  was  general, 
and  was  shared  in  by  every  regiment  then  in  the  field,  includ- 
ing the  (Jth  (Fisher's)  North  Carolina  regiment,  which  had  just 
come  up.  The  whole  open  ground  was  again  swept  clear  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  plateau  around  the  Henry  and  Robinson 
houses  remained  finally  in  our  possession,  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  Ricketts  and  Griffin  batteries.  This  part  of  the 
day  was  rich  with  deeds  of  individual  coolness  and  dauntless 
conduct,  as  well  as  well-directed,  embodied  resolution  and 
bravery,  but  fraught  with  the  loss  to  the  service  of  the  coun- 


»        THE   FIRST  YEAR   OP  TIIE   WAR.  127 

try,  of  lives  of  inestimable  preciousness  at  this  juncture.  The 
brave  Bee  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  head  of  the  5th  Ala- 
bama and  some  Mississippians,  in  the  open  field  near  the 
Henry  house;  and,  a  few  yards  distant,  Colonel  Bartow  had 
fallen,  shot  through  the  heart,  lie  was  grasping  the  standard 
of  his  regiment  as  he  was  shot,  and  calling  the  remnants  of 
his  command  to  rally  and  follow  him.  He  spoke  after  receiv- 
ing his  mortal  wound,  and  his  words  were  memorable.  To  the 
few  of  his  brave  men  who  gathered  around  him  he  said,  ''They 
have  killed  me,  but  never  give  up  the  field."  The  last  com- 
mand was  gallantly  obeyed,  and  his  men  silenced  the  battery 
of  which  he  died  in  the  charge.  Colonel  Fisher  had  also  been 
killed.  He  had  fallen  at  the  head  of  the  torn  and  thinned 
ranks  of  his  regiment. 

The  conflict  had  been  awfully  terrific.  The  enemy  had 
been  driven  back  -on  our  right  entirely  across  the  turnpike, 
and  beyond  Young's  Branch  on  our  left.  At  this  moment,  the 
desired  reinforcements  arrived.  Withers'  18th  regiment  of 
Cocke's  brigade  had  come  up  in  time  to  follow  the  charge. 
Kershaw's  2d  and  Cash's  8th  South  Carolina  regiments  ar- 
rived soon  after  Withers',  and  were  assigned  an  advantageous 
position.  A  more  important  accession,  however,  to  our  forces 
was  at  hand.  A  courier  had  galloped  from  Manassas  to  report 
that  a  Federal  army  had  reached  the  line  of  the  Manassas 
Gap  railroad,  was  marching  towards  us,  ami  was  then  about 
three,  or  four  miles  from  our  left  flank.  Instead,  however,  of 
the  enemy,  it  was  the  long-expected  reinforcements.  General 
Kirby  Smith,  with  some  seventeen  hundred  infantry  of  El- 
zey's  brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah  and  Beckham's 
battery,  had  reached  Manassas  by  railroad,  «at  noon.  His 
forces  were  instantly  marched  across  the  fields  to  the  scene  of 
action. 

The  flying  enemy  had  been  rallied  under  cover  of  a  strong 
Federal  brigade,  posted  on  a  plateau  near  the  intersection  of 
the  turnpike  and  the  Sudley-Brentsville  road,  and  was  now 
making  demonstrations  to  outflank  and  drive  back  our  left, 


128  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

and  thus  separate  us  from  Manassas.  General  Smith  was  in- 
structed by  General  Johnston  to  attack  the  right  flank  of  the 
enemy,  now  exposed  to  us.  Before  the  movement  was  com- 
pleted, he  fell  severely  wounded.  Colonel  Elzey,  at  once 
taking  command,  proceeded  to  execute  it  with  promptness  and 
vigour,  while  General  Beauregard  rapidly  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  threw  forward  his  whole  line. 

About  3.30  P.  M.,  the  enemy,  driven  back  on  their  left  and 
centre,  and  brushed  from  the  woods  bordering  the  Sudley  road, 
south  and  west  of  the  Henry  house,  had  formed  a  line  of  battle 
of  truly  formidable  proportions,  of  crescent  outline,  reaching 
on  their  left,  from  the  vicinity  of  Pittsylvania,  (the  old  Carter 
mansion,)  by  Matthew's  and  in  rear  of  Dogan's,  across  the 
turnpike  near  to  Chinn's  house.  The  woods  and  fields  were 
filled  with  the  masses  of  infantry  and  their  carefully  preserved 
cavalry.  It  was  a  truly  magnificent,  though  redoubtable  spec- 
tacle, as  they  threw  forward  in  fine  style,  on  the  broad  gentle 
slopes  of  the  ridge  occupied  by  their  main  lines,  a  cloud  of 
skirmishers,  preparatory  for  another  attack.    ' 

Colonel  Early,  wh'o,  by  some  misehance,  did  not  receive 
orders  until  2  o'clock,  which  had  been  sent  him  at  noon,  came 
on  the  ground  immediately  after  Elzey,  with  Kemper's  7th 
Virginia,  Hay's  7th  Louisiana,  and  Barksdale's  13th  Missis- 
sippi regiments.  This  brigade,  by  the  personal  direction  of 
General  Johnston;  was  marched  by  the  Holkham  house,  across 
the  fields  to  the  left,  entirely  around  the  woods  through  which 
Elzey  had  passed,  and  under  a  severe  fire,  into  a  position  in 
line  of  battle  near  Chinn's  house,  outflanking  the  enemy's 
right. 

The  enemy  Mas  making  his  last  attempt  to  retrieve  the  day. 
He  had  re-formed  to  renew  the  battle,  again  extending  his 
right  with  a  still  wider  sweep  to  turn  our  left.  Col.  Early  was 
ordered  to  throw  himself  directly  upon  the  right  flank  of  the 
enemy,  supported  by  Col.  Stuart's  cavalry  and  Beckham's  bat- 
tery. As  Early  formed  his  line,  and  Beckham's  pieces  played 
upon  the  right  of  the  enemy,  Elzey 's  brigade,  Gibbons'  10th 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  129 

Virginia,  Lieut.  Col.  Stuart's  1st  Maryland,  and  Vaughan's  3d 
Tennessee  regiments,  and  Cash's  8th  and  Kershaw's  2d  South 
Carolina,  Withers'  18th  and  Preston's  28th  Virginia*  advanced 
in  an  irregular  line,  alraost>  simultaneously.  The  charge  made 
by  General  Beauregard  in  front,  was  sustained  by  the  resolute 
attack  of  Early  on  the  right  flank  and  rear.  The  combined 
attack  was  too  much  for  the  enemy.  He  was  forced  over  the 
narrow  plateau  made  by  the  intersection  of  the  two  roads 
already  mentioned.  He  was  driven  into  the  fields,  where  his 
masses  commenced  to  scatter  in  all  available  directions  towards 
BulL  Run.  He  had  lost  all  the  artillery  which  he  had  advanced 
to  the  last  scene  of  the  conflict ;  he  had  no  more  fresh  troops 
to  rally  on,  and  there  were  no  combinations  to  avail  him  to 
make  another  stand.  The  day  was  ours.  From  the  long  con- 
tested hill  from  which  the  enemy  had  been  driven  back,  his 
retreating  masses  might  be  seen  to  break  over  the  fields 
stretching  bej'ond,  as  the  panic  gathered  in  their  rear.  The 
rout  had  become  general  and  confused;  the  fields  were  covered 
with  black  swarms  of  flying  soldiers,  while  cheers  and  yells 
taken  up  along  our  lines,  for  the  distance  of  miles,  rung  in  the 
ears  of,  the  panic-stricken  fugitives. 

THE    ROUT. 

Early's  brigade,  meanwhile,  joined  by  the  19th  Virginia 
regiment,  of  Cocke's  brigade,  pursued  the  now  panic-stricken 
fugitive  enemy.  Stuart,  with  his  cavalry,  and  Beckham  had 
also  taken  up  the  pursuit  along  the  road  by  which  the  enemy 
had#come  upon  the  field  that  morning ;  but,  soon  cumbered  by 
prisoners  who  thronged  the  way,  the  former  was  unable  to 
attack  the  mass  of  the  fast-fleeing,  frantic  Federals.  The 
want  of  a  cavalry  force  of  sufficient  numbers  made  an  efEcient 
pursuit  a  military  impossibility. 

But  the  pressure  of  close  and  general  pursuit  was  not  neces- 
sary to  disorganize  the  flight  of  the  enemy.  Captain  Kemper 
pursued  the  "retreating  masses  to  within  range  of  Cub  Run 
Bridge.  Upon  the  bridge,  a  shot  took  effect  upon  the  horses 
9 


130  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

of  a  team  that  was  crossing.  The  wagon  was  overturned  di-. 
rectly  in  the  centre  of  the  bridge,  and  the  passage  was  com- 
pletely obstructed.  The  Confederates  continued  to  play  their- 
artillery  upon  the  train  carriages  and  artillery  wagons,  and 
these  were  reduced  to  ruins.  Cannons  and  caissons,  ambu- 
lances and  train  wagons,  and  hundreds  of  soldiers  rushed  down 
the  hill  into  a  common  heap,  struggling  and  scrambling  to  cross 
the  stream  and  get  away  from  their  pursuers. 

The  retreat,  the  panic,  the  heedless,  headlong  confusion  was 
soon  beyond  a  hope;  Officers  with  leaves  and  eagles  on  their 
shoulder  straps,  majors  and  colonels  who  had  deserted  their 
comrades  passed  galloping  as  if  for  dear  life.  Not  a. field  officer 
seemed  to  have  remembered  his  duty.  The  flying  teams  and 
wagons  confused  and  dismembered  every  corps.  For  three 
miles,  hosts  of  the  Federal  troops — all  detached  from  their  regi- 
ments, all  mingled  in  one  disorderly  rout— Were  fleeing  along 
the  road.  Army  wagons,  sutler's  teams  and  private  carriages 
choked  the  passage,  tumbling  against  each  other  amid  clouds 
of  dust,  and  sickening  sights  and  sounds.  Hacks  containing 
unlucky  spectators  of  the  late  affray  were  smashed  like  glass, 
and  the  occupants  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  debris.  Horses, 
flying  wildly  from  the  battle-field,  many  of  them  in  death  agony, 
galloped  at  random  forward,  joining  in  the  stampede.  Those* 
on  foot  who  could  catch  them  rode  them  bareback,  as  much  to 
save  themselves  from  being  run  over  as  to  make  quick  time. 

Wounded  men  lying  along  the  banks — the  few  either  left  on 
the  field  or  not  taken  to  the  captured  hospitals  appealed,  with 
raised  hands,  to  those  who  rode  horses,  begged  to  be  lifted 
behind  ;  but  few  regarded  such  petitions.  Then,  the  artillery, 
such  as  was  saved,  came  thundering  along,  smashing  and  over- 
powering everything.  The  regular  cavalry  joined  in  the  melee, 
adding  to  its  terrors,  for  they  rode  down  footmen  without  mercy. 
One  of  the  great  guns  was  overturned  and  lay  amid  the  ruins 
of  a  caisson.  Sights  of  wild  and  terrible  agony  met  the  eye 
everywhere.  An  eye-witness  of  the  scene  describes  the  de- 
spairing efforts  of  an  artilleryman,  who  was  running  between 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  131 

the  ponderous  fore  and  after-wheels  of  his  gun-carriage,  hang- 
ing on  -with  both  hands  and  vainly  striving  to  jump  upon  the 
ordnance.  The  drivers  were  spurring  the  horses ;  he  could 
not  cling  much  longer,  and  a  more  agonized  expression  never 
fixed  the  features  of  a  drowning  man.  The  carriage  bounded 
from  the  roughness  of  a  steep  hill  leading  to  a  creek ;  he  lost 
his  hold,  fell,  and  in -an  instant  the  great  wheels  had  crushed 
the  life  out  of  him. 

The  retreat  did  not  slacken  in  the  least  until  Ccntrcvillc  was 
reached.  There,  the  sight  of  the  reserve — Miles's  brigade — 
formed  in  order  on  the  hill,  seemed  somewhat  to  re-assure  the 
van.  The  rally  was  soon  overcome  by  a  few  sharp  discharges 
of  artillery,  the  Confederates  having  a  gun  taken  from  the 
enemy  in  position.  The  teams  and  foot  soldiers  pushed  on, 
passing  their  own  camp  and  heading  swiftly  for  the  distant 
Potomac. 

The  men  literally  screamed  with  rage  and  fright  when  their 
Way  was  blocked  up.  At  every  shot  a  convulsion,  as  it  were, 
seized  upon  the  morbid  mass  of  bones,  sinews,  wood  and  iron, 
and  thrilled  through  it,  giving  new  energy  and  action  to  its 
desperate  efforts  to  get  free  from  itself.  The  cry  of  "  cavalry  " 
arose.  Mounted  men  still  rode  faster,  shouting  out  "  cavalry 
is  coming."-  For  miles  the  roar  of  the  flight  might  be  heard. 
Negro  servants  on  lead  horses  dashed  frantically  past,  men  in 
uniform  swarmed  by  on  mules,  chargers,  and  even  draught 
horses,  which  had  been  cut  out  of  carts  and  wagons,  and  went 
on  with  harness  clinging  to  their  heels  as  frightened  as  their 
riders.  "We're  whipped,"  "we're  whipped,"  was  the  univer- 
sal cry.  The  buggies  and  light  wagons  tried  to  pierce  the  rear 
of  the  mass  of  carts,  which  were  now  solidified  and  moving  on 
like  a  glacier ;  while  further  ahead  the  number  of  mounted  men 
increased,  and  the  volume  of  fugitives  became  denser. 

For  ten  miles,  the  road  over  which  the  Grand  Army  had 
so  lately  passed  southward,  gay  with  unstained  banners,  and 
flushed  with  surety  of  strength,  was  covered  with  the  frag- 


132  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

ments  of  its  retreating  forces,  shattered  and  panic-stricken  in 
a  single  day. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  more  deplorable  spectacle 
than  was  presented  in  Washington  as  the  remnants  of  the  army 
came  straggling  in.  During  Sunday  evening,  it  had  been  sup- 
posed in  the  streets  of  the  Federal  city  that  its  army  had 
won  a  decisive  and  splendid  victory.  .The  elation  was  ex- 
treme. At  each  echo  of  the  peals  of  the  cannon,  men  were 
seen  on  the  street  leaping  up  and  exclaiming — "  There  goes 

another  hundred  of  the  d d  rebels."     The  next  morning 

the  news  of  defeat  was  brought  by  the  tide  of  the  panic-stricken 
fugitives.  One  of  the  boats  from  Alexandria  came  near  being 
.sunk  by  the  rush  of  the  panic-stricken  soldiers  upon  its  decks. 
Their  panic  did  not  stop  with  their  arrival  in  Washington. 
They  rushed  to  the  depot  to  continue  their  flight  from  Wash- 
ington. The  government  was  compelled  to  put  it  under  a  strong 
guard  to'  keep  off  the  fugitives  who  struggled  to  get  on  the 
Northern  trains.  Others  fled  wildly  into  the  country.  Not  a 
few  escaped  across  the  Susquehanna  in  this  manner,  compel- 
ling the  negroes  they  met  to  exchange  their  clothes  with  them 
for  their  uniforms.  For  four  or  five  days,  the  wild  and  terror- 
stricken  excitement  prevailed.  Many  of  the  fugitives,  with 
garments  nearly  torn  from  them,  and  covered  with  the  blood 
of  their  wounds,  thronged  the  streets  with  mutinous  demonstra- 
tions. Others,  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  hunger,  fear  and  dis- 
may upon  their  countenances,  with  torn  clothing,  covered  with 
dust  and  blood,  were  to  be  seen  in  all  quarters  of  the  city,  lying 
upon  the  pavements,  cellar-doors  or  any  other  spot  that  offered 
them  a  place  for  the  repose  which  nature  demanded.  Many 
of  them  had  nothing  of  the  appearance  of  soldiers  left  except 
their  besmeared  and  tattered  uniforms.  They  did  not  pretend 
to  observe  any  order,  nor  did  their  officers  seem  to  exercise  the 
least  authority  over  them.  Some  recounted  to  horror-stricken 
audiences  the  bloody  prowess  of  the  Confederate  troops.  The 
city  of  Washington  was  for  days  in  trembling  expectation  of 


THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  133 

the  advance  of  the  Confederate  army,  flushed  with  victory  and 
intent  upon  planting  its  flag  upon  the  summits  of  the  Northern 
capital. 

We  had,  indeed,  won  a  splendid  victory,  to  judge  from  its 
fruits  within  the  limits  of  the  battle-field.  The  events  of  the 
battle  .of  Manassas  were  glorious  for  our  people,  and  were 
thought  to  be  of  crushing  effect  upon  the  morale  of  our  hitherto 
confident  and  overweening  adversary.  Our  loss  was  consider- 
able. The  killed  outright  numbered  369;  the  wounded,  1,483: 
making  an  aggregate  of  1,852.  The  actual  loss  of  the  enemy 
will  never  be  known  ;  it  may  now  only  be  conjectured.  Their 
abandoned  dead,  as  they  were  buried  by  our  people  where  tlioy 
fell,  unfortunately,  were  not  enumerated,  but  many  parts  of  the 
field  were  thick  with  their  corpses,  as  but  few  battle-fields  have 
ever  been.  The  official  reports  of  the  enemy  are  expressly 
silent  on  this  point,  but  still  afford  us  ("lata  for  an  approximate 
estimate.  Left  almost  in  the  dark,  in  respect  to  the  losses  of 
Hunter's  and  Heintzelman's  divisions — first,  longest  and  most 
hotly  engaged — we  are  informed  that  Sherman's  brigade — 
Tyler's  division — suffered,  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  609; 
that  is  about  18  per  cent,  of  the  brigade.  A  regiment  of 
Franklin's  brigade — Gorman's — lost  21  per  cent.  Griffin's 
(battery)  loss  was  30  per  cent.;  and  that  of  Keyes'  brigade, 
which  was  -so  handled  by  its  commander  as  to  be  exposed  to 
only  occasionally  volleys  from  our  troops,  Avas  at  least  10  per 
cent.  To  these  facts  add  the  repeated  references  in  the  reports 
of  the  more  reticent  commanders  to  the  "murderous"  fire  to 
which  they  were  habitually  exposed — the  "  pistol  range"  vol- 
leys, and  galling  musketry,  of  which  they  speak,  as  scourging 
their  ranks,  and  we  are  warranted  in  placing  the  entire  loss  bf 
the  Federalists  at  over  4,500  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners, 
28  pieces  of  artillery,  about  5,000  muskets,  and  nearly  500,000 
cartridges  ;  a  garrison  flag  and  10  colours  were  captured  on  the 
field  or  in  the  pursuit.  Besides  these,  we  captured  64  artillery 
horses,  with  their  harness,  26  wagons,  and  much  camp  equipage, 
clothing,  and  other  property,  abandoned  in  their  flight. 


134  THE  FIRST  ¥EAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  news  of  our  great  victory  was  received  by  the  people 
of  the  South  without  indecent  exultations.  The  feeling  was 
one  of  deep  and  quiet  congratulation,  singularly  characteristic 
•of  the  Southern  people.  A  superficial  observer  would  have 
judged  Richmond,  the  Confederate  capital,  spiritless  under 
the  news.  There  were.no  bells  rung,  no  bonfires  kindled,  no 
exultations  of  a  mob,  and  none  of  that  parade  with  which  the 
North  had  exploited  their  pettiest  successes  in  the  opening  of 
the  war.  .  But  there  was  what  superficial  observation  might 
not  have  apprehended  and  could  not  have  appreciated — a  deep, 
serious,  thrilling  enthusiasm,  which  swept  thousands  of  hearts, 
which  was  too  solemn  for  wild  huzzas,  and  too  thoughtful  to 
be  uttered  in  the  eloquence  of  ordinary  words.  The  tremulous 
tones,  of  deep  emotion,  the  silent  grasp  of  the  hand,  the  faces 
of  men  catching  the  deep  and  burning  enthusiasm  of  unuttered 
feelings  from  each  otlier,  composed  an  eloquence  to  which 
words  would  have  been  a  mockery.  Shouts  would  have  marred 
the  solemnity  of  the  general  joy.  The  manner  of  the  recep- 
tion of  the  news  in  Richmond  was  characteristic  of  the  con- 
servative and  poised  spirit  of  our  government  and  people.  The 
only  national  recognition  of  the  victory  was  the  passage  of 
resolutions  in  the  Provisional  Congress,  acknowledging  the 
interposition  and  mercies  of  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  recommending  thanksgiving  services  in  all 
-the  churches  of  the  South  on  the  ensuing  Sabbath. 

The  victory  had  been  won  by  the  blood  of  many  of  our  best 
and  bravest,  and  the  public  sorrow  over  the  dead  was  called 
upon  to  pay  particular  tributes  to  many  of  our  officers  who 
had  fallen  in  circumstances  of  particular  gallantry.  Among 
others,  Gen.  Bee,  to  whose  soldierly  distinction  and  heroic  ser- 
vices on  the  field  justice  was  never  fully  done,  until  they  were 
especially  pointed  out  in  the  official  reports,  both  of  General 
Johnston  and  General  Beauregard,  had  fallen  upon  the  field. 
The  deceased  general  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point.  During 
the  Mexican  war,  he  had  served  with  marked  distinction,  win- 
t  ning  two  brevets  before  the  close  of  the  war ;  the  last  that  of 


THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  '    135 

captain,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  storming 
of  Chepultepec.  His  achievements  since  that  time  in  wars 
amongst  the  Indians  were  such  as  to  attract  towards  him  the 
attention  of  his  State ;  and  in  his  dying  hand,  on  the  field  in 
which  he.  fell,  he  grasped  the  sword  which  South  Carolina  had 
taken  pride  in  presenting  him. 

Colonel  Francis  S.  Bartow,  of  Georgia,  who  had  fallen  in 
the  same  charge  in  which  the  gallant  South  Carolinian  had 
received  his  death  wound,  was  chairman  of  the  Military  Com- 
mittee of  tlie  Provisional  Congress,  and  that  hody  paid  a 
public  tribute  of  more  than  usual  solemnity  and  eloquence  to 
his  memory.* 


*  An  eloquent  tribute  was  paid  to  the  memory  of  Colonel  Bartow  in  Con- 
gress, by  Mr.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  in  which  some  interesting  recitals  were 
given  of  Colonel  Bartow's  short,  but  brilliant  experience  of  the  camp.  The 
following  extract  is  indicative  of  a  spirit  of  confidence,  which  was  peculiarly 
characteristic  of  the  officers  and  men  alike  of  our  army  : 

"Whilst  in  camp,  and  before  the  advance  of  Patterson's  column  into  Vir- 
ginia, but  while  it  yet  hovered  on  the  border  in  Maryland,  watched  closely 
by  Johnston's  army,  I  said,  casually,  to  Colonel  Bartow,  '  The  time  is  ap- 
proaching when  your  duties  will  call  you  to  meet  Congress  at  Richmond, 
and  I  look  to  the  pleasure  of  traveling  there  with  you.'  He  replied,  'I  don't 
think  I  can  go;  my  duties  will  detain  me  here.'  I  told  him  that  if  a  battle 
was  fought  between  the  two  armies,  it  certainly  was  not  then  imminent,  and 
I  thought  his  service  in  Congress,  and  especially  as  chairman  of  the  Military 
Committee,  would  be  even  more  valuable  to  the  country  iu  Congress,  than  in 
the  field.  After  a  pause,  and  with  a  beaming  eye,  he  said  :  '  No,  sir ;  I  shall 
never  leave  this  army,  until  the  battle  is  fought  and  won.'  And,  afterwards 
whilst  the  two  armies  lay  in  front  of  each  other,  the  enemy  at  Martinsburg, 

and  Johnston  with  his  command  at  Bunker  Hill,  only  seven  miles  apart tho 

enemy  we  knew  numbered  some  twenty-two  thousand  men,  whilst  on  our  side 
we  could  not  present  against  them  half  that  number,  and  the  battle  hourly 
expected.  His  headquarters  under  a  tree  in  an  orchard,  and  his  shelter  and 
shade  from  a  burning  sun  the  branches  of  that  tree,  and  his  table  a  camp 
chest — I  joined  him  at  dinner.  Little  is,  of  course,  known  of  .the  views  and 
purposes  of  a  general  in  command,  but  it  was  generally  understood  that 
Johnston  was  then  to  give  the  enemy  battle  should  he  invite  it.  In  con- 
versation on  the  chances  of  the  fight,  I  said  to  Bartow,  'of  the  spirit  and 
courage  of  the  troops  I  have  no  doubt,  but  the  odds  against  you  are  immense.' 
His  prompt  ueply  was,  ■  they  can  never  whip  ua.  We  shall  not  count  the 
odds.  We  may  be  exterminated,  but  never  conquered.  I  shall  go  into  that 
fight  with  a  determination  never  to  leave  the  field  alive,  but  in  victory,  and  I 


136  '  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  results  of  the  victory  of  Manassas  were,  on  the  first 
days  of  its  full  announcement,  received  in  the  South  as  indica- 

•  tive  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  The  advance  of  our  » 
army  on  Washington  was  impatiently  expected.  A  few  days 
passed,  and  it  became  known  to  the  almost  indignant  disappoint-, 
ment  of  the  people,  that  our  army  had  no  thought  of  an  ad- 
vance upon  the  Northern  capital,  and  was  content  to  remain 
where  it  was,  occupying  the  defensive  line  of  Bull  Run. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  in  excuse  of  the  palpable 
and  great  error,  the  perniciousness  of  which  no  "one  doubted 
after  its  effects  were  realized,  of  the  failure  of  the  Confederate 
army  to  take  advantage  of  its  victory,  and  press  onto  Wash- 
ington, where  for  days  there  was  nothing  to  oppose  them  but 
an  utterly  demoralized  army,  intent  upon  a  continuance  of 
their  flight  at  the  approach  of  our  forces.  In  his  official  re- 
port, General  Johnston  insists  that  "no  serious  thoughts", 
were  ever  entertained  of  advancing  against  the  capital,  as  it 
was  considered  certain  that  the  fresh  troops  within  the  works 
were,  in  number,  quite  sufficient  for  their  defence ;  and  that  . 
if  not,   General    Patterson's   army  would   certainly  reinforce 

'them  soon  enough.  This  excuse  takes  no  account  of  the 
utterly  demoralized  condition  of  the  Northern  forces  at  Wash- 
ington; and  the  further  explanations  of  the  inadequate  means 


know  that  the  same  spirit  animates  my  ■whole  command.     How,  then,  can 
they  whip  us?' 

"  Am  I  here  to  tell  you  how  gallantly  and  truthfully  he  made  good  that  vow 
on  the  bloody  plain  at  Manassas,  and  how  nobly  the  troops  under  his  com- 
mand there  redeemed  the  pledge  made  for  them?  The  'battle  was  fought 
and  won,'  as  he  vowed  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  he  sealed  in  death  his  first  promise 
in  the  field  of  war.  Will  you  call  this  courage — bravery  ?  No,  no.  Bartow 
never  thought  of  the  perils  of  the  fight.  Bravery,  as  it  is  termed,  may  be 
nothing  more  than  nervous  insensibility.  With  him  the  incentives  to  the 
battle-field  were  of  a  far  different  type.  The  stern  and  lofty  purpose  to  free 
his  country  from  the  invader;  the  calm  judgment  of  reason,  paramount  on  its 
throne,  overruling  all  other  sensations;  resolution  and  will  combined  to  the 
deed,  the  consequence  to  take  care  of  itself.  There  is  the  column  of  true 
majesty  in  man.  Such  was  Bartow,  and  such  will  impartial  history  record 
him.     He  won  immortality  in  Fame,  even  at  the  threshold  of  her  temple." 


THE   FIRST  YEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  137 

of  our  army  in  ammunition,  provisions  and  transportation  are 
only  satisfactory  excuses,  why  the  toil  of  pursuit  was  not  un- 
dertaken immediately  after  the  battle,  and  do  not  answer  with 
complete  satisfaction  the  inquiry  why  an  advance  movement 
was  not  made  within  the  time  when  means  for  it  might  have 
been  furnished,  and  the  enemy  was  still  cowed,  dispirited  and 
trembling  for  his  safety  in  the  refuges  of  Washington. 

The  fact  is,  that  our  army  had  shown  no  capacity  to  under- 
stand the  extent  of  their  fortunes,  or  to  use  the  unparalleled 
opportunities  they  had  so  bravely  won.  They  had  achieved  a 
victory  not  less  brilliant  than  that  of  Jena  and  not  more  pro- 
fitable than  that  of  Alma.  Instead  of  entering  the  gates  of 
Sebastopol  from  the  last-named  field,  the  victors  preferred  to 
wait  and  re-organize,  and  found,  instead  of  a  glorious  and  un- 
resisting prey,  a«ten  months'  siege. 

The  lesson  of  a  lost  opportunity  in  the  victory  of  Manassas 
had  to  be  repeated  to  the  South  with  additions  of  misfortune. 
For  months,  the  world  was  to  witness  our  largest  army  in  the 
field  confronting  in  idleness  and  the  demoralizations  of  a  sta- 
tionary camp  an  enemy  already  routed  within  twenty  miles 
of  his  capital ;  giving  him  the  opportunity  not  only  to  repair 
the  shattered  columns  of  his  Grand  Army,  but  to  call  nearly 
half  a  million  of  new  men  into  the  field ;  to  fit  out  four  exten- 
sive armadas ;  to  fa|l  upon  a  defenceless  line  of  sea-coast ;  to 
%open  a  new  theatre  of  war  in  the  West  and  on  the  Mississippi; 
and  to  cover  the  frontiers  of  half  a  continent  with  his  armies 
and  navies. 

INCIDENTS    OF   THE    BATTLE. 

A  friend,  Captain  McFarland,  who  did  service  in  the  battle 
of  Manassas  as  a  private  in  Captain  Powell's  Virginia  cavalry, 
has  furnished  us  with  a  diary  of  some  thrilling  incidents  of 
the  action.     We  use  a  few  of  them  in  Captain  McFarland's 

words : 

"  At  8  A.  81.,  we  proceeded  to  take  position  as  picket  guard  and  videttes  in 
a  little  clump  of  timber,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  directly  in  front  of 


138  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

the  Confederate  earth-works  at  Mitchell's  Ford.  The  picket  consisted  of 
twelve  infantry  and  three  cavalry.  Having  secured  our  horses,  we  lay  down 
in  the  edge  of  the  timber,  and  with  our  long-range  rifles  commenced  to  pick 
off  such  of  the  enemy  as  were  sufficiently  presumptuous  to  show  themselves 
clear  of  the  heavy  timber  which  crowned  the  distant  hill.  In  a  short  time, 
the  enemy,  being  very  much  annoyed  by  our  sharp  shooting,  ran  out  from  the 
woods,  both  in  our  front  and  on  the  left,  two  rifle  pieces,  and  threw  their 
conical  shells  full  into  our  covert.  The  pickets,  however,  were  not  dislodged. 
But  two  of  our  horses  became  frantic  from  the  whistling  and  explosion  of  the 
shells,  and  we  found  it  necessary  to  remove  them.  Just  at  this  moment,  a 
detachment  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  came  dashing  down  the  road,  but  halted 
before  they  came  within  range  of  the  muskets  of  the  infantry.  The  enemy 
then  commenced  a  heavy  firing  with  artillery  on  our  earth-works  at  the  ford, 
and  we  retired  beyond  Bull  Run. 

In  the  meantime,  the  thunder  of  battle  was  heard  on  our  left,  and  from  the 
heights  above  the  stream  could  be  seen  the  smoke  from  the  scene  of  the  con- 
flict, which,  as  it  shifted  position,  showed  the  varying  tide  of  conflict.  Occa- 
sionally, a  small  white  cloud  of  smoke  made  its  appearance  above  the  horizon, 
indicating  the  premature  explosion  of  a  bomb  shell ;  while,  at  painfully  regu- 
lar intervals,  the  dull,  heavy  report  of  the  enemy's  thirty-two  pounder  told 
us  that  its  position  remained  unassailed.  In  the  meantime,  the  infantry  in 
the  trenches  at  Mitchell's  Ford  were  impatiently  awaiting  the  vainly-looked 
for  advance  upon  our  breast-works.  The  enemy  threw  their  shells  continu- 
ously into  this  locality,  but  during  the  whole  day  killed  only  three  men,  and 
these  were  standing  up  contrary  to  orders.  This  position  was  commanded  by 
the  brave  Brigadier-General  M.  L.  Bonham,  of  South  Carolina. 

About  11  o'clock,  the  cavalry  were  ordered  to  ride  to  the  main  field  of 
action,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Stone  Bridge.  We  set  off  at  a  dashing  gallop, 
throwing  down  fences  and  leaping  ditches,  in  our  eagerness  to  participate  in 
the  then  raging  conflict.  In  crossing  an  open  field,  I  was,  with  Lieutenant 
Timberlake,  riding  at  the  head  of  a  detachment,  consisting  of  Captain  Wick- 
ham's  light-horse  troop  and  Captain  E.  B.  Powell's  company  of  Fairfax  cav- 
alry, when  a  shell  was  thrown  at  the  head  of  the  column  from  a  rifle  piece 
stationed  at  the  distance  of  not  less  than  two  miles,  and  as,  hurrying  onward, 
we  leaned  down  upon  our  horses,  the  hurtling  missile  passed  a  few  inches 
above  us,  burying  itself  harmlessly  in  the  soft  earth  on  our  left. 

On  arriving  near  the  scene  of  action,  we  took  position  below  the  Lewis 
house,  under  cover  of  an  abruptly  rising  hill.  Here  we  remained  stationary 
for  about  an  hour.  The  enemy  in  the  meantime,  knowing  our  position,  en- 
deavoured to  dislodge  us  with  their  shells,  which  for  some  time  came  hissing 
over  our  heads,  and  exploded  harmlessly  in  our  rear.  Finally,  however,  they 
lowered  their  guns  sufficiently  to  cause  their  shot  to  touch  the  crest  of  the 
hill,  and  ricochU  into  our  very  midst,  killing  one  man,  besides  wounding  sev- 
eral, and  maiming  a  number  of  horses.  But  we  still  retained  our  position 
amid  the  noise  of  battle,  which  now  became  terrific.  , 

From  the  distance  came  the  roar  of  the  enemy's  artillery,  while  near  by 
our  field  pieces  were  incessantly  vomiting  their  showers  of  grape  and  hurling 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  139 

their  small  shell  into  the  very  teeth  of  the  foe.  At  intervals,  as  regiments  came 
face  to  face,  the  unmistakable  rattle  of  the  musketry  told  that  the  small  arms 
of  our  brave  boys  were  doing  deadly  work.  At  times,  we  could  hear  wild 
yells  and  cheers  which  rose  above  the  din,  as  our  infantry  rushed  on  to  the 
charge.  Then  folfowed  an  ominous  silence,  and  I  could  imagine  the  fierce 
but  quiet  work  of  steel  to  steelj  until  another  cheer  brought  me  knowledge  of 
the  baffled  enemy. 

Meanwhile,  our  reinforcements  were  pouring  by,  and  pressing  with  enthusi- 
astic cheers  to  the  battle  field.  Ou  the  other  hand,  many  of  onr  wounded 
were  borne  past  us  to  the  rear.  One  poor  fellow  was  shot  through  the  left 
cheek;  as  he  came  pass  me,  he  smiled,  and  muttered  with  difficulty,  "Boys, 
they've  spoilt  my  beauty."  He  could  say  no  more,  but  an  expression  of  acute 
pain  flitted  across  his  face,  and  shaking  his  clenched  fist  iu  the  direction  of  the 
foe,  he  passed  on.  Another  came  by,  shot  in  the  breast.  His  clothing  had  been 
stripped  from  over  his  ghastly  wound,  and  at  every  breath,  the  warm  life 
blood  gushed  from  his  bosom.  I  rode  up  to  him,  as,  leaning  on  two  compa- 
nions, he  stopped  for  a  moment  to  rest.  "My  poor  fellow,"  said  I,  "I  am 
sorry  to  see  you  thus."  "Yes!  yes,"  was  his  reply,  "they've  done  for  vie 
now,  but  my  father's  there  yet !  our  army's  there  yet!  our  cause  is  there  yet!" 
and  raising  himself  from  the  arms  of  his  companions,  his  pale  face  lighting 
up  like  a  sunbeam,  he  cried  with  an  enthusiasm  I  shall  never  forget,  "and 
Liberty's  there  yet!"  But  this  spasmodic  excrtien  was  too  much  for  him,  a  pur- 
ple flood  poured  from  his  wound,  and  he  swooned  away.  I  was  enthusiastic 
before,  but  I  felt  then  as  if  I  could  have  ridden  singly  and  alone  upon  a  regi- 
juent,  regardless  of  all  but  my  country's  cause. 

Just  then,  the  noble  Beauregard  came  dashing  by  with  his  staff,  and  the 
cry  was  raised,  that  part  of  Sherman's  battery  had  been  taken.  Cheer  after 
cheer  went  up  from  our  squadrons.  It  was  taken  up  and  borne  along  the 
whole  battle-field,  until  the  triumphant-shout  seemed  one  grand  cry  of  victory. 
At  this  auspicious  moment,  our  infantry  who  had  been  supporting  the  batte- 
ries were  ordered  to  rise  and  charge  the  eneiuy  with  the  bayonet.  With  ter- 
rific yells,  they  rushed  upon  the  Federal  legions  with  an  impetuosity  which 
could  not  be  withstood,  and  terror-stricken,  they  broke  and  fled  like  deer  from 
the  cry  of  wolves.  Our  men  followed  hard  upon  them,  shouting,  and  driving 
_  their  bayonets  up  to  the  hilt  iu  the  backs  of  such  of  the  enemy  as  by  ill  luck 
chanced  to  be  hindmost  in  the  flight. 

At  this  moment,  one  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  aids  rode  rapidly  up  and  spoke 
to  Col.  Radford,  commander  of  our  regiment  of  Virginia  cavalry,  who  imme- 
diately turned  to  us  and  shouted,  "Men,  now  is  our  time!"  It  was  the  hap- 
piest moment  of  my  life.  Taking  a  rapid  gallop,  we  crossed  Bull  Run  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  made  for  the  rear  of  the 
now  flying  enemy.  On  we  dashed,  with  the  speed  of  the  wind,  our  horses 
wild  with  excitement,  leaping  fences,  ditches  and  fallen  trees,  until  we  came 
opposite  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Spindle,  which  was  used  by  the  enemy  as  a  hos- 
pital, and  in  front  of  which  was  a  small  cleared  space,  the  fence  which  enclosed 
it  running  next  the  timber.  Leaping  this  fence,  we  debouched  from  the  woods 
with  a  demoniacal  yell,  and  found  ourselves  on  the  flank  of  the  enemy. 


140  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  remnant  of  Sherman's  "battery  was  passing  at  the  time,  and  thus 
we  threw  ourselves  between  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  and  Sherman's 
battery,  which,  supported  by  four  regiments  of  infantry,  covered  the 
retreat  of  the  Federal  army.  Our  regiment  had  divided  in  the  charge,  and 
our  detachment  no'vy  consisted  of  Capt.  Wickham's  cavalry,  Capt.  E.  B.  Powell's 
troop  of  Fairfax  cavalry,  the  Radford  Rangers,  Capt.  Radford,  the  whole  led 
by  Col.  Radford. 

Our  onslaught  was  terrific.  With  our  rifles  and  shot  guns,  we  killed  forty- 
nine  of  the  enemy  the  first  discharge,  then  drawing  our  sabres,  we  dashed 
upon  them,  cutting  them  down  indiscriminately. 

With  several  others,  I  rode  up  to  the  door  of  the  hospital  in  which  a  num- 
ber of  terrified 'Yankees  had  crowded  for  safety,  and  as  they  came  out,  we  shot 
them  down  with  our  pistols.  Happening  at  this  moment  to  turn  round,  I  saw 
a  Yankee  soldier  in  the  act  of  discharging  his  musket  at  the  group  stationed 
around  the  door.  Just  as  he  fired,  I  wheeled  my  horse,  and  endeavoured  to 
ride  him  down,  but  he  rolled  over  a  fence  which  crossed  the  yard.  This,  I 
forced  my  horse  to  leap,  and  drawing  my  revolver,  I  shouted  to  him  to  stop; 
as  he  turned,  I  aimed  to  fire  into  his  face,  but  my  horse  being  restive,  the  ball 
intended  for  his  brain,  only  passed  through  his  arm,  which  he  held  over  his 
head,  and  thence  through  his  cap.  I  was  about  to  finish  him  with  another 
shot,  ( for  I  had  vowed  to  spare  no  prisoners  that  day, )  when  I  chanced  to  look 
into  his  face.  He  was  a  beardless  boy,  evidently  not  more  than  seventeen 
years  old.  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  kill  him,  for  he  plead  piteously; 
go  seizing  him  by  the  collar,  and  putting  my  horse  at  the  speed,  leaping  the 
fence,  I  dragged  him  to  our  rear  guard. 

Just  at  this  moment,  I  saw  that  the  enemy  had  unlimbered  two  field  pieces, 
and  were  preparing  to  open  upon  us.  Capt.  Radford  was  near  me,  and  I 
pointed  to  the  cannon.  He  dashed  the  spurs  into  his  horse  and  shouted, 
"  Charge  the  battery."  But  only  twenty  of  our  men  were  near,  the  rest  having 
charged  the  rear  of  the  main  body  of  the  flying  Federals.  Besides  this,  the 
cannon  were  supported  by  several  regiments  of  infantry.  We  saw  our  situa- 
tion at  a  glance,  and  determined  to  retreat  to  the  enemy's  flank.  We  were 
very  close  to  the  battery,  and  as  I  wheeled  my  horse,  I  fired  a  shot  from  my 
revolver  at  the  man  who  was  aiming  the  piece.  He  reeled,  grasped  at  the 
wheel,  and  fell.  I  had  thrown  myself  entirely  on  the  left  side  of  my  horse,  . 
my  foot  hanging  upon  the  croup  of  the  saddle,  and  the  grape  consequently 
passed  over  me.  Capt.  Radford:  was  in  advance  of  me,  his  horse  very  unruly, 
plunging  furiously.  As.  I  rode  up,  he  uttered  a  cry,  and  put  his  hand  to  his 
side.  At  this  instant,  we  came  to  a  fence,  and  my  horse  cleared  it  with  a 
bound.  I  turned  to  look  for  Capt.  Radford,  but  he  was  not  visible.  A  grape 
shot  had  entered  just  above  the  hip,  and  tearing  through  his  bowels,  passed 
out  of  his  left  side.  He  fell  from  his  steed,  which  leaped  the  fence  and  ran 
off.  The  Captain  was  found  afterward  by  some  of  Col.  Munford's  cavalry. 
He  lived  till  sunset,  and  died  in  great  agony.  By  this  discharge  were  killed, 
besides  Capt.  R.,  a  lieutenant,  two  non-commissioned  officers  and  five  privates. 

Having  gained  the  flank  of  the  enemy,  I  dismounted  and  fired  for  some  time 
with  my  rifle  into  the  passing  columns.    Suddenly  I  found  myself  entirely  alone, 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   "WAR.  141 

and  remounting,  I  rode  back  until  I  found  Col.  Munford's  column  drawn  up 
in  the  woods.  Not  being  able  to  find  my  own  company,  I  returned  to  the 
pursuit. 

Kemper's  battery  bad  dashed  upon  the  horror-stricken  foe,  and  opened  on 
their  rear,  which  was  covered  by  the  remainder  of  Sherman's  battery,  includ- 
ing the  thirty-two  pound  rifle  gun,  known  as  "Long  Tom."  The  havoc  pro- 
duced was  terrible.  Drivers  were  ghot  from  their  horses,  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  shells  and  shot.  Cannon  were  dismounted,  wheels  smashed,  horses  maimed, 
and  the  road  strewn  with  the  dead.  This  completed  the  rout,  and  the  passage 
of  Cub  Run  was  blocked  by  Wagons  and  caissons  being  driven  into  the  fords, 
above  and  below  the  bridge,  and  upon  the  bridge  itself. 

The  route  taken  by  the  flying  enemy  was  blocked  with  dead.  I  saw  Yan- 
kees stone-dead,  without  a  wound.  They  had  evidently  died  from  exhaustion 
or  sheer  fright.  Along  the  route  we  found  the  carriage  of  Governor  Sprague 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  in  it  his  overcoat,  with  several  baskets  of  Champagne. 
The  necks  of  the  bottles  were  snapped  in  a  trice,  and  we  drank  to  our  victory. 
But  our  delight  and  pride  can  scarcely  be  imagined,  when  we  found  "Long 
Tom,"  whose  whistling  shells  had  been  "falling  continually  among  us  from 
early  dawn.  It  was  hauled  back  to  Bull  Run  amid  the  shouts  of  our  men,  and 
particularly  Kemper's  artillery  boys,  who  acted  so  well  their  part  in  causing 
the  Federals  to  abandon  it. 

********  The  following  morning,  in  the  dark  drizzling 
rain,  I  rode  over  tbe  field  of  battle.  It  was  a  sorrowful  and  terrible  spectacle 
to  behold,  without  the  stirring  excitements  of  brittle  to  relieve  the  horrors  of 
the  ghastly  heaps  of  dead  that  strewed  the  field.  At  a  distance,  some  por- 
tions of  the  field  presented  the  appearance  of  flower  gardens,  from  the  gay 
colours  of  the  uniforms,  turbans,  &c,  of  the  dead  Zouaves.  The  faces  of 
many  of  the  dead  men  were  already  hideously  swollen,  blotched  and  blackened, 
from  the  effects  of  the  warm,  wet  atmosphere  of  the  night. 

In  a  little  clump  of  second-growth  pines,  a  number  of  wounded  had  crawled 
for  shelter.  Many  of  our  men  were  busy  doing  them  offices  of  kindness  and 
humanity.  There  was  one  New  York  Zouave  who  appeared  to  be  d3-ir.g;  his 
jaws  were  working,  and  he  seemed  to  be  in  great  agony.  I  poured  some  wa- 
ter down  his  throat,  which  revived  him.     Fixing  his  eyes  upon  me,  with  a  look 

of  fierce  hatred,  he  muttered,  "you  d d  rebel,  if  I  had  a  musket  I  would 

blow  out  your  infernal  soul."  Another  pale  youth  was  lying  in  the  wet  under- 
growth, shivering  in  the  rain,  and  in  the  cold  of  approaching  death.  He  was 
looking  wistfully  towards  a  large,  warm  blanket  spread  across  my  saddle,  and 
said  in  his  halting,  shivering  breath,  "I'm  so  cold."  I  spread  the  blanket 
over  him,  and  left  him  to  that  end  of  his  wretchedness  which  could  not  be  far 
distant. 


142  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WART     * 


CHAPTER  V.  ' 

Results  of  the  Manassas  Battle  in  the  North... General  Scott. ..McClellan, 
"the  Young  Napoleon  "...Energy  of  the  Federal  Government... The  Bank 
Loan. ..Events  in  the  West. ..The  Missouri  Campaign. ..Governor  Jackson's 
Proclamation... Sterling  Price. ..The  Aifair  of  Boonville... Organization  of  the 
Missouri  Forces. ..The  Battle  of  Carthage. ..General  McCulloch... The  Bat- 
tle of  Oak  Hill. ..Death  of  General  Lyon. ..The  Confederate  Troops  leave 
Missouri. ..Operations  in  Northern  Missouri. ..General  Harris. ..General  Price's 
March  towards  the  Missouri. ..The  Aifair  at  Dry  wood  Creek. ..The  Battle  of 
Lexington. ..The  Jayhawkers...The  Victory  of  "  the  Five  Hundred  "...General 
Price's  Achievements. ..His  Betreat  and  the  Necessity  for  it. ..Operations  of 
General  Jeff.  Thompson-in  South-Eastern  Missouri. ..The  Affair  of  Frederick- 
town. ..General  Price's  Passage  of  the  Osage  River. ..Secession  of  Missouri 
from  the  Federal  Union... Fremont  Superseded. ..The  Federal  Forces  in  Mis- 
souri Demoralized. ..General  Price  at  Springfield. ..Review  Of  his  Campaign... 
Sketch  of  General  Price. ..Coldness  of  the  Government  towards  him. 

The  Northern  mind  demanded  a  distinguished  victim  for  its 
humiliating  defeat  at  Manassas.  The  people  and  government 
of  the  North  had  alike  flattered  themselves  with,  the  expecta- 
tion of  possessing  Richmond  by  midsummer ;  their  forces  were 
said  to-be  invincible,  and  their  ears  were  not  open  to  any  re- 
port or  suggestion  of  a  possible  disaster.  On  the  night  of  the 
21st  of  July,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Northern  cities  had  slept 
upon  the  assurances  of  victory.  It  would  be  idle  to  attempt  a 
description  of  their  disappointment  and  consternation  on  the 
succeeding  day. 

The  Northern  newspapers  were  forced  to  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  a  disaster  at  once  humiliating  and  terrible.  They 
assigned  various  causes  for  it.  Among  these  were  the  non- 
arrival  of  General  Patterson  and  the  incompetence  of  their 
general  officers.  The  favourite  explanation  of  the  disaster 
was,  however,  the  premature  advance  of  the  army  under  Gen- 
eral Scott's  direction ;  although  the  fact  was,  that  the  advance 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  143 

movement  had  been  undertaken  from  the  pressure  of  popular 
clamour  in  the  North. 

The  clamour  was  now  for  new  commanders.  It  came  from 
the  army  and  the  people  indiscriminately.  The  commander- 
in-chief,  General  Scott,  was  said  to" be  impaired  in  his  faculties 
by  age,  and  it  was  urged  that  he  should  be  made  to  yield  the 
command  to  a  younger  and  more  efficient  spirit.  The  railing 
accusations  against  General  Scott  were  made  by  Northern 
journals  that  had,  before  the  issue  of  Manassas,  declared  him 
to  be  the  "  Greatest  Captain  of  the  Aga,"  and  without  a  rival 
among  modern  military  chieftains.  It  was  thought  no  allevia- 
tion of  the  matter  that  he  was  not  advised,  as  his  friends  repre- 
sented, of  the  strength  of  "the  rebels."  It  was  his  business 
to  have  known  it,  and  to  have  calculated  the  result. 

General  Scott  cringed  at  the  lash  of  popular  indignation 
with  a  humiliation  painful  to  behold.  He  was  not  great  in 
misfortune.  In  a  scene  with  President  Lincoln,  the  incidents 
of  which  were  related  in  the  Federal  House  of  Representatives 
by  General  Richardson,  of  Illinois,  he  declared  that  he  had 
acted,  "the  coward,"  in  yielding  to  popular  clamour  for  an 
advance  movement,  and  sought  in  this  wretched  and  infamous 
confession  the  mercy  of  demagogues  who  insulted  his  fallen 
fortunes. 

The  call  for  a  "younger  general"  to  take  command  of  the 
Federal  forces  was  promptly  responded  to  by  the  appointment 
of  General  G.  B.  McClellan  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  The  understanding  on  both  sides  of  the  line 
was,  that  General  Scott  was  virtually  superseded  by  the  Fed- 
eral government,  so  far  as  the  responsibility  of  active  service 
was  concerned,  though  he  retained  his  nominal  position  and 
pay  as  lieutenant-general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  Army 
of  the  United  States.  The  unfortunate  commander  experienced 
the  deep  humiliation  and  disgrace  of  being  adjudged  incompe- 
tent by  the  North,  whose  cause  he  had  unnaturally  espoused, 
and  whose  armies  he  had  sent  into  the  field  as  invaders  of  the 


144  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

4 
♦ 

land  of  his  l?irth.  The  retribution  was  righteous.  No  penal- 
ties of  fortune  were  too  severe  for  a  general  who  had  led  or 
directed  an  army  to  trample  upon  the  graves  of  his  sires  and 
to  despoil  the  homes  of  his  kindred  and  country. 

General  McClellan  had  been  lifted  into  an  immense  popu- 
larity by  his  successes  in  North-western  Virginia,  in  the  affair 
of  Rich  Mountain  and  the  pursuit  of  General  Garnett,  which 
Northern  exaggeration  had  transformed  into  great  victories. 
For  weeks  he  had  been  the  object  of  a  "  sensation."  His  name 
was  displayed  in  New  York,  on  placards,  on  banners,  and  in 
newspaper  headings,  with  the  phrase,  "  McClellan — two  victo- 
ries in  one  day."  The  newspapers  gave  him  the  title  of  "  the 
Young  Napoleon,"  and  in  the  South  the  title  was  derisively 
perpetuated.  He  was  only  thirty-five  years  of  age — small  in 
stature,  with  black  hair  and  moustaches,  and  a  remarkable 
military  precision  of  manner.  He  was  a  pupil  of  West  Point, 
and  had  been  one  of  the  American  Military  Commission  to 
the  Crimea.  When  appointed  major-general  of  volunteers  by 
Governor  Dennison,  of  Ohio,  he  had  resigned  from  the  army, 
and  was  superintendent  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  railroad,  a 
dilapidated  concern.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
man  who  was  appointed  to  the  responsible  and  onerous  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  anything  more  than 
the  creature  of  a  feeble  popular  applause. 

A  leading  Southern  newspaper  had  declared,  on  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  complete  and  brilliant  victory  at  Manassas, 
"the  independence  of  the  Confederacy  is  secured."  There 
could  not  have  been  a  greater  mistake.  The  active  and  elas- 
tic spirit  of  the  North  was  soon  at  work  to  repair  its  fortunes ; 
and  time  and  opportunity  were  given  it  by  the  South,  not  only 
to  recover  lost  resources,  but  to  invent  new.  The  government 
at  Washington  displayed  an  energy  which,,  perhaps,  is  the 
most  remarkable  phenomenon  in  the  whole  history  of  the  war : 
it  multiplied  its  armies ;  it  re-assured  the  confidence  of  the 
people ;  it  recovered  itself  from  financial  straits  which  were 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  145 

almost  thought  to  be  hopeless,  and  while  the  politicians  of  the 
South  were  declaring  that  the  Federal  treasury  was  bankrupt, 
it  negotiated  a  loan  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars 
from  the  banks  of  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  at  a 
rate  but  a  fraction  above  that  of  legal  interest  in  the  State  of 
New  York. 

While  the  North  was  thus  recovering  its  resources  on  the 
frontiers  of  Virginia  and  preparing  for  an  extension  of  the 
campaign,  events  were  transpiring  in  the  West  which  were 
giving  extraordinary  lessons  of  example  and  encouragement  to 
the  Southern  States  bordering  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf. 
These  events  were  taking  place  in  Missouri.  The  campaign 
in  that  State  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  episodes  of  the  war, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  history,  and  one  of  the  most 
fruitful  in  the  lessons  of  the  almost  miraculous  achievements 
of  a  people  stirred  by  the  enthusiasms  of  revolution.  To  the 
direction  of  these  events  we  must  now  divert  our  narrative. 

THE   MISSOURI   CAMPAIGN. 

The  riots  in  St.  Louis,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  were  the  inaugurating  scenes  of  the  revolution  in  Mis- 
souri. The  Federal  government  had  commenced  its  pro- 
gramme of  subjugation  with  a  high  hand.  On  the  10th  of 
May,  a  brigade  of  Missouri  militia,  encamped  under  the  law 
of  the  State  for  organizing  and  drilling  the  militia  at  Camp 
Jackson,  on  the  western  outskirts  of  St.  Louis,  had  been  forced 
to  surrender  unconditionally  on  the  demand  of  Captain  (after- 
wards General)  Lyon  of  the  Federal  Army.  In  the  riots 
excited  by  the  Dutch  soldiery  in  St.  Louis,  numbers  of 
citizens  had  been  murdered  in  cold  blood ;  a  reign  of  terror 
was  established ;  and  the  most  severe  measures  were  taken  by 
the  Federal  authority  to  keep  in  subjection  the  excitement  and 
rage  of  the  people.  St.  Louis  was  environed  by  a  line  of 
military  posts ;  all  the  arms  and  ammunition  in  the  city  were 
seized,  and  the  houses  of  citizens  searched  for  concealed  muni- 
tions of  war.  The  idea  of  any  successful  resistance  of  Mis- 
10 


146  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

souri  to  the  Federal  power  was  derided.  "Let  her  stir,"  said 
the  Lincolnites,  "  and  the  lion's  paw  will  crush  out  her  paltry 
existence." 

The  several  weeks  that  elapsed  between  the  fall  of  Fort 
Sumter  and  the  early  part  of  June  were  occupied  by  the  Seces-  * 
8ionists  in  Missouri  with  efforts  to  gain  time  by  negotiation  and 
with  preparations  for  the  contest.  At  length,  finding  further 
delay  impossible,  Governor  Jackson  issued  his  proclamation, 
calling  for  fifty  thousand  volunteers.  At  the  time  of  issuing 
this  proclamation,  on  th-e  13th  of  June,  1861,  the  governor 
was  advised  of  the  purpose  of  the  Federal  authorities  to  send  ' 
an  effective  force  from  St.  Louis  to  Jefferson  city,  the  capital 
of  the  State.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  move  at  once  with 
the  State  records  to  Boonville,  situated  on  the  south  bank  of 
the*  Missouri,  eighty  miles  above  Jefferson  city.  Before  his 
departure  from  the  latter  place,  he  had  conferred  upon  Ster- 
ling Price  the  position  of  major-general  of  the  army  of  Mis-  • 
souri,  and  had  also  appointed  nine  brigadier-generals.  These 
were  Generals  Parsons,  M.  L.  Clark,  John  B.  Clark,  Slack, 
Harris,  Stein,  Raines,  McBride  and  Jeff.  Thompson. 

There  was  at  the  time  of  the  issuance  of  this  proclamation 
l!o  military  organization  of  any  description  in  the  State.  Per- 
haps, there  had  not  been  a  militia  muster  in  Missouri  for  twelve 
or  fifteen  years,  there  being  no  law  to  require  it.  The  State 
was  without  arms  or  ammunition.  Such  was  her  condition, 
when,  with  a  noble  and  desperate  gallantry  that  might  have 
put  to  blush  forever  the  stale  and  common  excuse  of  "help- 
lessness "  for  a  cringing  submission  to  tyranny,  the  State  of 
Missouri  determined  alone  and  unaided  to  confront  and  resist 
the  whole  power  of  the  North,  and  to  fight  it  to  the  issue  of 
liberty  or  death. 

Orders  were  issued  by  General  Price,  at  Jefferson  city,  to 
the  several  brigadiers  just  appointed  to  organize  their  forces 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  send  them  forward  to  Boonville  and 
Lexington. 

On  the  20th  June,  General  Lyon  and  Colonel  F.  P.  Blair, 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  147 

with  seven  thousand  Federal  troops,  well  drilled  and  well 
armed,  came  up  the  river  by  vessels*  and  debarked  about  five 
miles  below  Boonville.  To  oppose  them  there  t}ie  Missourians 
had  but  about  eight  hundred  men,  armed  with  ordinary  rifles 
and  shot  guns,  without  a  piece  of  artillery,  and  with  but  little 
ammunition.  Lyon's  command  had  eight  pieces  of  cannon  and 
the  best  improved  small  arms.  The  Missourians  were  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Marmaduke,  a  graduate  of  West  Point. 
Under  the  impression  that  the  forces  against  him  were  incon- 
siderable, he  determined  to  give  them  battle ;  but,  upon  ascer- 
taining their  'actual  strength,  after  he  had  formed  his  line,  he 
told  his. men  they  could  not  reasonably  hope  to  defend  the 
position,  and  ordered  them  to.  retreat.  This  order  they  refused 
to  obey.  They  declared  that  they  would  not  leave  the  ground 
without  exchanging  shots  with  the  enemy.  The  men  remained 
on  the  field  commanded  by  their  captains  and  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Horace  Brand.  A  fight,  ensued  of  an  hour  and  a  half 
or  more ;  the  result  of  which  was  the  killing  and  wounding  of 
upwards  of  one  hundred  of  the  enemy,  and  a  loss  of  three 
Missourians  killed  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  wounded,  several 
of  whom  afterwards  died.  "  The  barefoot  rebel  militia,"  as 
they  were  sneeringly  denominated,  exhibited  a  stubbornness 
on  the  field  of  their  first  fight  which  greatly  surprised  their 
enemy,  and,  overpowered  by  his  numbers,  they  retreated  in 
safety,  if  not  in  order. 

Governor  Jackson  and  General  Price  arrived  at  Boonville, 
from  Jefferson  city,  on  the  18th  June.  Immediately  after  his 
arrival,  General  Price  was  taken  down  with  a  violent  sickness, 
which  threatened  a  serious  termination.  On  the  19th,  he  was 
placed  on  board  a  boat  for  Lexington,  one  of  the  points  at 
which  he  had  ordered  troops  to  be  congregated.  This  accounts 
for  his  absence  from  the  battle  of  Boonville. 

A  portion  of  the  Missouri  militia  engaged  in  the  action, 
from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  in  number,  took 
up  their  line  of  march  for  the  Southwestern  portion  of  the 
State,  under  the  direction  of.  Governor  Jackson,  accompanied 


148  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

by  the  heads  of  the  State  Departments  and  by  General  J.  B. 
Clark  and  General  Parsons.  *  They  marched  some  twenty-five 
miles  after  the  fight  of  the  morning,  in  the  direction  of  a  place 
called  Cole  Camp,  to  which  point  it  happened  that  General 
Lyon  and  Colonel  Blair  had  sent  from  seven  hundred  to  one 
thousand  of  their  "  Home  Guard,"  with  a  view  of  intercept- 
ing the  retreat  of  Jackson.  Ascertaining  this  fact,  Governor 
Jackson  halted  his  forces  for  the  night  within  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  of  Camp  Cole.  Luckily,  an  expedition  for  their  relief 
had  been  speedily  organized  south  of  Cole  Camp,  and  was  at 
that  very  moment  ready  to  remove  all  obstructions  in  the  way 
of  their  journey.  This  expedition,  consisting  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  was  commanded  by  Colonel  O'Kane, 
and  was  gotten  up,  in  a.  few  hours,  in  the  neighbourhood  south 
of  the  enemy's  camp.  The  so-called  "  Home  Guards  "  con- 
sisting almost  exclusively  of  Germans,  were  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Cook,  a  brother  of  the  notorious  B.  F.  Cook,  who  was 
executed  at  Charlestown,  Virginia,  in  1859,  as  an  accomplice 
of  John  Brown,  in  the  Harper's  Ferry  raid.  Col.  O'Kane  ap- 
proached the  camp  of  the  Federals  after  the  hour  of  midnight. 
They  had  no  pickets  out,  except  in  the  direction  of  Jackson's 
forces,  and  he  consequently  succeeded  in  completely  surprising 
them.  They  were  encamped  in  two  large  barns,  and  were 
asleep  when  the  attack  was  make  upon  them  at  day-break.  In 
an  instant,  they  were  aroused,  routed  and  nearly  annihilated; 
two  hundred  and  six  of  them  being  killed,  a  still  larger  num- 
ber wounded,  and  upwards  of  one  hundred  taken  prisoners. 
Colonel  Cook  and  the  smaller  portion  of  his  command  made 
their  escape.  The  Missourians  lost  four  men  killed  and  fifteen 
or  twenty  wounded.  They  captured  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  muskets ;  thus  partially  supplying  themselves  with  bayo- 
nets, the  weapons  for  which  they  said  they  had  a  particular 
use  in  the  war  against  their  invaders.  Of  this  success  of  the 
Missouri  "rebels  "  there  was  never  any  account  published  even 
in  the  newspapers  of  St.  Louis. 

Having  been  reinforced  by  CoJ.  O'Kane,  Governor  Jackson 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  149 

proceeded  with  his  reinforcements  to  Warsaw,  on  the  Osage 
river  in  Benton  county,  pursued  by  Col.  Totten  of  the  Federal 
army,  with  fourteen  hundred  men,  well  armed  and  having  seve- 
ral pieces  of  artillery.  Upon  the  receipt  of  erroneous  informa- 
tion as  to  the  strength  of  Jackson's  forces,  derived  from  a 
German  who  escaped  the  destruction  of  Camp  Cole,  and  per- 
haps, also,  from  the  indications  of  public  sentiment  in  the 
country  through  which  he  marched,  Col.  Totten  abandoned 
the  pursuit  and  returned  to  the  army  under  Gen.  Lyon,  at 
Boonville.  Jackson's  forces  rested  at  Warsaw  for  two  days, 
after  which  they  proceeded  to  Montevallo,  in  Vernon  county, 
where  they  halted  and  remained  for  six  days,  expecting  to  form 
a  junction  at  that  point  with-  another  column  of  their  forces 
that  had  been  congregated  at  Lexington,  and  ordered  by  Gen. 
Price  to  the  Southwestern  portion  of  the  State. 

That  column  was  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-Generals 
Rains  and  Slack,  and  consisted  of  some  twenty-five  hundred 
men.  Col.  Prince,  of  the  Federal  army,  having  collected  a 
force  of  four  or -five  thousand  men  from  Kansas,  with  a  view  of 
cutting  them  off,  Gen.  Price  ordered  a  retreat  to  some  point  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Montevallo.  Gen.  Price,  still  very  feeble 
from  his  recent  severe  attack  of  sickness,  started  with  one  hun- 
dred men  to  join  his  forces.  His  object  was  to  draw  his  army 
away  from  the  base  line  of  the  enemy,  the  Missouri  river,  and 
*to  gain  time  for  the  organization  of  his  army.  The  column 
from  Lexington  marched  forward,  without  blankets  or  clothing 
of  any  kind,  without  wagons,  without  tents,  and,  indeed,  with- 
out anything  usually  reckoned  among  the  comforts  of  an  army. 
They  had  to  rely  for  subsistence  on  the  country  through  which 
they  passed — a  friendly  country,  it  is  true,  but  they  had  but 
little  time  to  partake  of  hospitalities  on  their  march,  being 
closely  pursued  by  the  enemy.  On  the  night  of  the  3d  of  July, 
the  column  from  Lexington  formed  a  junction  with  Jackson's 
forces  in  Cedar  county. 

That  night,  under  orders  from  Governor  Jackson,  all  the  men 
belonging  to  the  districts  of  Brigadier-Generals  then  present, 


150  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

reported,  respectively,  to  their  appropriate  Brigadier-Generals 
for  the  purpose  of  being  organized  into  companies,  battalions, 
regiments,  brigades  and  divisions.  The  result  was,  that  about 
two  thousand  reported  to  Brig.  Gen.  Rains,  six  hundred  to 
Brig.  Gen.  Slack,  and  about  five  hundred  each  to  Brigadier- 
Generals  J.  B.  Clark  and  Parsons :  making  an  entire  force  of 
about  three  thousand  six  hundred  men.  Some  five  or  six  hun- 
dred of  the  number  were,  however,  entirely  unarmed ;  and  the 
common  rifle  and  the  shot  gun  constituted  the  weapons  of  the 
armed  men,  with  the  exception  of  the  comparatively  few  who 
carried  the  muskets  taken  in  the  fight  at  Cole  Camp.  The 
army  was  organized  by  12  o'clock,  the  4th  July,  and  in  one  hour 
thereafter,  it  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  the  Southwest. 

Before  leaving,  Governor  Jackson  received  intelligence  that 
he  was  pursued  by  Gen.  Lyon,'  coming  down  from  a  northeast- 
erly direction,  and  by  Lano  and  Sturgis  from  the  Northwest, 
their  supposed  object  being  to  form  a  junction  in  his  rear,  with  a 
force  sufficiently  large  to  crush  him.  He  marched  his  command 
a  distance  of  twenty-three  miles  by  nine  o'clock  on  the  evening 
of  the  4th,  at  which  hour  he  stopped  for  the  night.  Before  the 
next  morning,  he  received  authentic  intelligence  that  a  column 
of  men,  three  thousand  in  number,  had  been  sent  out  from 
St.  Louis,  on  the  Southwestern  branch  of  the  Pacific  Railroad 
for  Rolla,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Seigel,  and  that  they 
had  arrived  at  the  town  of  Carthage,  immediately  in  his  front,* 
thus  threatening  him  with  battle  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours. 
Such  was  the  situation  of  the  undisciplined,  badly-armed  Mis- 
souri State  troops,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  July :  a  large 
Federal  force  in  their  rear,  pressing  upon  them,,  while  Seigel 
in  front  intercepted  their  passage.  But  they  were  cheerful  and 
buoyant  in  spirit,  notwithstanding  the  perilous  position  in  which 
they  were  placed.  They  resumed  their  march  at  two  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  5tli,  and  proceeded,  without  halting,  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  miles.  At  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  they  approached  a 
creek  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  enemy,  whose  forces  were 
in  line  of  battle  under  Seigel,  in  the  open  prairie,  upon  the  brow 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  151 

of  a  hill,  and  in  three  detachments,  numbering  nearly  three 
thousand  men. 

THE    BATTLE   OF   CARTHAGE. 

The  Missourians  arrived  on  their  first  important  battle  field 
■with  a  spirit  undiminished  by  the  toil  .of  their  march  and  their 
sufferings.     The  men  were  suffering   terribly  for  water,  but 
could  find  none,  the  enemy  being  between  them  and  the  creek. 
The  line  of  battle  was  formed  with  about  twelve  hundred  men  as 
infantry,  commanded  by  Brigadier-Generals  J.  B.  Clark,  Parsons 
and  Slack,  and  the  remainder  acting  as  cavalry  under  Briga- 
dier-General Rains — the  whole  under  the  command  of  Governor 
Jackson.     The  infantry  were  formed,  and  placed  in  line  of 
battle  six-  hundred  yards  from  the  enemy,  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill  fronting  his  line.     The  cavalry  deployed  to  the  right  and 
left,  with  the  view  of  charging  and  attacking  the  enemy  on  his 
right  and  left  wing,  while  the  infantry  were  to  advance  from 
the  front.    Seigel  had  eight  pieces  of  cannon.    The  Missourians 
had  a  few  old  pieces,  but  nothing  to  charge  them  with.     While 
their  cavalry  were  deploying  to  the  right  and  left,  Seigel's  bat- 
teries opened  upon  their  line  with  grape,  canister,  shell  and 
round  shot.     The  cannon  of  the  Missourians  replied  as  best 
they  could.     They  were  loaded  with  trace  chains,  bits  of  iron, 
rocks,  &c.     It  was  difficult  to  get  their  cavalry  up  to  the  posi- 
tion agreed  upon  as  the  one  from  which  a  general  charge  should 
be  commenced  upon  the  foe.     Seigel  would  turn  his  batteries 
upon  them  whenever  they  came  in  striking  distance,  causing 
a  stampede  among  the  horses,  and  subjecting  the  troops  to  a 
galling  fire.     This  continued  to  be  the  case  for  an  hour  and 
thirty-five  minutes.     Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  bringing  the 
horses  into  position,  the  Brigadier-Generals  ordered  the  infantry 
to  charge  the  enemy,  the  cavalry  to  come  up  at  the  same  time 
in  supporting  distance.     They  advanced  in  double-quick,  with 
a  shout,  when  the  enemy  retreated  across  Bear  Creek,  a  wide 
and  deep  stream,  and  then  destroyed  the  bridge  over  which 
they  crossed.     Seigel's  forces  retreated  -along  the  bank  of  the 


152  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

creek  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  mile  and  a  half,  and  formed  behind 
a  skirt  of  timber.  The  Missourians  had  to  cross  an  open  field, 
exposed  to  a  raking  fire  before  they  could  reach  the  corner  of 
the  woods,  beyond  which  the  enemy  had  formed.  A  number 
of  the  cavalry  dismounted  and  acted  with  the  infantry,  thus 
bringing  into  active  use  nearly  all  the  small  arms  brought  upon 
the  field.  They  rushed  to  the  skirt  of  timber,  and  opened 
vigorously  upon  the  enemy  across  the  stream,  who  returned  the 
fire  with  great  spirit.  For  the  space  of  an  hour,  the  fire  on 
each  side  was  incessant  and  fierce.  The  Missourians  threw  a 
quantity  of  dead  timber  into  the  stream,  and  commenced  cross- 
ing over  in  large  numbers,  when  the  enemy  again  abandoned 
his  position,  and  started  in  the  direction  of  Carthage,  eight 
miles  distant.  A  running  fight  was  kept  'up  all  the  way  to 
Carthage,  Seigel  and  his  forces  being  closely  pursued  by  the 
men  whom  they  had  expected  to  capture  without  a  fight.  At 
Carthage,  the  enemy  again  made  a  stand,  forming  an  ambus- 
cade behind  houses,  wood-piles  and  fences.  After  a  severe  en- 
gagement there  of  some  forty  minutes,  he  retreated  under  cover 
of  night,  in  the  direction  of  Rolla.  He  was  pursued  some  three 
or  four  miles,  till  near  nine  o'clock,  when  the  Missourians  were 
called  back  and  ordered  to  collect  their  wounded.  They  camped 
at  Carthage  that  night,  (July  5,)  on  the  same  ground  that  Sei- 
gel had  occupied  two  nights  before.  The  little  army  had  done 
a  brilliant  day's  work.  They  had  fought  an  enemy  from  10, 
A.  M.,  to  9,  P.  M.,  killing  and  wounding  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  his  men,  and  driving  him  twelve  miles  on  the  route  of  his 
retreat.  They  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  continued  to  march 
all  night,  and  did  riot  halt  till  eleven  o'clock  the  next  day, 
nearly  thirty  miles  from  Carthage.  The  casualties  of  the  day  can 
not  be  given  with  accuracy.  The  Missourians  lost  between  forty 
and  fifty  killed,  and  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  esti- 
mated at  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  killed,  and 
from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  wounded — his  killed  and 
wounded  being  scattered  over  a  space  of  upwards  of  ten  miles. 


THE  FIRST   YBAR   OF   THE   WAR.  153 

The  Missourians  captured  several  hundred  muskets,  which  -were 
given  to  their  unarmed  soldiers.  The  victory  of  Carthage  had 
an  inspiriting  effect  upon  the  Missourians,  and  taught  the  enemy 
a  lc«son  of  humility  which  he  did  not  soon  forget.  It  awakened 
the  Federal  commanders  in  Missouri  to  a.sense  of  the  magni- 
tude of  the  work  before  them.  When  Seigel  first  got  sight  of 
the  forces  drawn  up  against  him,  he  assured  his  men  that  there 
wduld  be  no  serious  conflict.  He  said  they  were  coming  into 
line  like  a  worm-fence,  and  that  a  few  grape,  canister  and  shell 
thrown  into- their  midst,  would  throw  them  into  confusion,  and 
put  them  to  flight.  This  accomplished,  he  would  charge  them 
with  his  cavalry  and  take  them  prisoners,  one  and  all.  But 
after  carefully  observing  their,  movements  for  a  time,  in  the 
heat  of  the  action,  he  changed  his  tone.  "  Great  God,"  he 
exclaimed,  "was  the  like  ever  seen.  Raw  recruits,  unac- 
quainted with  war,  standing  their  ground  like  veterans,  hurling 
defiance  at  every  discharge  of  the  batteries  against  them,  and 
cheering  their  own  batteries  whenever  discharged.  Such  mate- 
rial, properly  worked  up,  would  constitute  the  best  troops  in 
the  world."  Such  was  the  testimony  of  Gen.  Seigel,  who  bears 
the  reputation  of  one  of  the  most  skilful  and  accomplished  offi- 
cers in  the  Federal  service. 

The  next  day,  July  Gth,  General  Price  arrived  at  Carthage, 
accompanied  by  Brigadier-General  McCulloch  of  the  Confed- 
erate army  and  Major-General  Pierce  of  the  Arkansas  State 
forces,  with  a  force  of  nearly  two  thousand  men.  These  im- 
portant arrivals  were  hailed  with  joy  by  the  Missourians  in 
camp.  They  were  happy  to  see  their  beloved  general  so  far 
restored-  to  health  as  to  be  able  to  take  command ;  and  the 
presence  of  the  gallant  Generals  McCulloch  and  Pierce  with  an 
effective  force  gave  them  an  assurance,  not  to  be  mistaken,  of 
the  friendly  feeling  and  intention  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment towards  the  State  of  Missouri. 

On  the  7th,  the  forces  at  Carthage,  under  their  respective 
commands,  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Cowskin  Prairie,  in 


154  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

McDonald  county,  near  the  Indian  Nation.  Jt  turned  out  that 
Lyon,  Sturgis,  Sweeny  and  Seigel,  instead  of  pursuing  their 
foe,  determined  to  form  a  junction  at  Springfield.  The  forces 
of  Price  and  McCulloch  remained  at  Cowskin  Prairie  for  seve- 
ral days,  organizing.for  the  work  before  them.  General  Price 
received  considerable  reinforcements ;  making  the  Avhole  nu- 
merical strength  of  his  command  about  ten  thousand.  More 
than  one-half  of  the  number,  however,  were  entirely  unarmed. 
Price,  McCulloch  and  Pierce  decided  to  march  upon  Spring- 
field, and  attack  the  enemy  where  he  had  taken  his  position  in 
force.  To  that  end,  their  forces  were  concentrated  at  Cass- 
ville  in  Barry  county,  according  to  orders,  and  from  that 
point  they  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  Springfield,  ninety 
miles  distant,  General  McCulloch  leading  the  advance. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Crane  Creek,  Gene/al  J^lcCulloch  was 
informed  by  his  pickets  that  the  Federals  had  left  Springfield, 
and  were  advancing  upon  him  in  large  force,  their  advanced 
guard  being  then  encamped  within  seven  miles  of  him.  For 
several  days  there  was  considerable  skirmishing  between  the 
pickets  of  the  two  armies  in  that  locality.  In  consequence  of 
information  of  the  immense  superiority  of  the  enemy's  force, 
General  McCulloch,  after  consultation  with  the  general  officers, 
determined  to  make  a  retrograde  movement.  He  regarded  the 
unarmed  men  as  incumbrances,  and  thought  the  unorganized 
and  undisciplined  condition  of  both  wings  of  the  army  sug- 
gested the  wisdom  of  avoiding  battle  with  the  disciplined  enemy 
upon  his  own  ground  and  in  greatly  superiour  numbers. 

General  Price,  however,  entertained  a  different  opinion  of 
the  strength  of  the  enemv.  He  favoured  an  immediate  ad- 
vance. This  policy  being  sustained  by  his  officers,  General 
Price  requested  McCulloch  to  loan  a  number  of  arms  from  his 
command  for  the  use  of  such  of  the  Missouri  soldiers  as  were 
unarmed,  believing  that,  with  the  force  at  his  command,  he 
could  whip  the  enemy.  General  McCulloch  declined  to  com- 
ply with  the  request,  being  governed,,  no  doubt,  by  the  same 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  155 

reasons  which  had  induced  him  to  decline  the%  responsibility  of 
ordering  an  advance  of  the  whole  command. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  upon  which  this  consultation 
occurred,  General  McCulloch  received  a  general  order  from 
General  P'olk,  commander  of  the  Southwestern  division  of  the 
Confederate  army,  to  advance  upon  the  enemy  in  Missouri. 
He  immediately  held  another  consultation  with  the  officers  of 
the  two  divisions,  exhibited  the  order  he  had  received,  and 
offered  to  march  at  once  upon  Springfield,  upon  condition  that 
he  should  have  the  chief  command  of  the  army.     General 
Price  replied,  that  he  was  not  fighting  for  distinction,  but  for 
the  defence  of  the  liberties  of  his  countrymen,  and  that  it  mat- 
tered but  little  what  position  he  occupied.     He  said  .that  he 
was  ready  to  surrender  not  only  the  command,  but  his  life  as 
a  sacrifice  to  the  <jause.     He  accordingly  did  not  hesitate,  with 
a  magnanimity  of  which  history  presents  but  few  examples  in 
military  leaders,  to  turn  over  the  command  to  General  McCul- 
loch, and  to  take  a  subordinate  position  in  a  contest  in  which, 
from  the  first,  he  was  assured  of  victory. 

On  taking  command,  General  McCulloch  issued  a  general 
order,  that  all  the  unarmed  men  should  remain  in  camp,  and 
all  those  furnished  with  arms  should  get  their  guns  in  condition 
for  service,  provide  themselves  with  fifty  rounds  of  ammunition, 
and  get  in  readiness  to  take  uj}  the  line  of  march  by  twelve 
•  o'clock  at  night.     The  army  was  divided  into  three  columns ; 
the  first  commanded  by  General  McCulloch,  the  second  by 
General  Pierce,  and  the  third  by  General  Price.     They  took 
up  the  line  of  march  at  the  hour  named,  leaving  the  baggage 
train  behind,  and  proceeded  in  the  direction  of   Springfield. 
The  troops  were  in  fine  condition  and  in  excellent  spirits,  ex- 
pecting to  find  the  enemy  posted  about  eight  miles  from  their 
camp,  on  the  Springfield  road,  where  the  natural  defences  are 
very  strong,  being  a  series  of  eminences  on  either  side  of  the 
road.     They  arrived  at  that*locality  about  sunrise,  carefully 
approached  it,  and  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  retired  the 


156  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

previous  afternoon.  They  followed  in  pursuit  that  day  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-two  miles,  regardless  of  dust  and  heat;  twelve 
miles  of  the  distance  without  a  drop  of  water — the  troops 
having  no  canteens. 

The  weary  army  encamped  on  the  night  of  the  8th  at  Big 
Spring,  one  mile  and  a  half  from  Wilson's  Creek  and  ten 
miles  and  a  half  south  of  Springfield.  Their  baggage  trains 
having  been  left  behind,  and  their  beef  cattle  also,  the  troops 
had  not  eaten  anything  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  had  been 
supplied  with  only  half  rations  for  ten  days  previous.  In  this 
exigency,  they  satisfied  the  cravings  of  hunger  by  eating  green 
corn,  without  a  particle  of  salt  or  a.mouthful  of  meat.  The 
wardrob.e  of  the  soldiers  on  that  night  was  thus  humorously 
described  by  one  of  the  number  :  "  We  had  not  a  blanket,  not 
a  tent,  nor  any  clothes,  except  the  few  we  had  on  our  backs, 
and  four-fifths  of  us-  were  barefooted.  Billy  Barlow's  dress  at 
a  circus  would  be  decent  in  comparison  with  that  of  almost  any 
one,  from  the  major-general  down  to  the  humblest  private." 

On  the  next  day,  the  army  moved  to  Wilson's  Creek,  and 
there  took  up  camp,  that  they  might  be  convenient  to  several 
large  fields  from  which  they  could  supply  themselves  with 
green  corn,  which,  for  two  days,  constituted  their  only  repast. 

Orders  were  issued  by  General  McCulloch  to  the  troops  to 
get  ready  to  take  up  the  line  of  march  to  Springfield  by  nine 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  with  a  view  of  attacking  the  enemy  at  four  . 
different  points  at  daybreak  the  next  morning.  His  effective 
force,  as  stated  by  himself,  was  five  thousand  three  hundred 
infantry,  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery  and  six  thousand  horsemen, 
armed  with  flint-lock  muskets,  rifles  and  shot  guns. 

After  receiving  the  order  to  march,  the  troops  satisfied  their 
hunger,  prepared  their  guns  and  ammunition,  and  got  up  a  . 
dance  before  every  camp-fire.  When  nine  o'clock  came,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  threatening  appearance  of  the  weather,  and 
the  want  of  cartridge  boxes  to  protect  the  ammunition  of  the 
men,  the  order  to  march  was  countermanded,  the  commanding 


THE    FIRST 'YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  157 

general  hoping  to  be  able  to  move  early  the  next  morning. 
The  dance  before  the  camp-fires  was  resumed  and  kept  up 
until  a  late  hour. 

THE    BATTLE    OF   OAK    HILL. 

The  next  morning,  the  10th  of  August,  before  sunrise,  the 
troops  were  attacked  by  the  enemy,  who  had  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  position  he  desired.  General  Lyon  attacked  them 
on  their  left,  and  General  Seigei  on  their  right  and  in  their 
rear.  From  each  of  these  points,  batteries  opened  upon  them. 
General  McCulloch's  command  was  soon  ready.  The  Mis- 
sourians,  under  Brigadier-Generals  Slack,  Clark,  McBride, 
Parsons  and  Raines,  were  nearest  the  position  taken  by  Gen- 
eral Lyon  with  his  main  force.  General  Price  ordered  them 
to  move  their  artillery  and  infantry  rapidly  forward.  Ad- 
vancing a  few  hundred  yards,  he  came  upon  the  main  body  of 
the  enemy  on  the  left,  commanded  by  General  Lyon  in  person. 
.The  infantry  and  artillery,  which  General  Price  had  ordered 
to  follow  him,  came  up  to  the  number  of  upwards  of  two  thou- 
sand, and  opened  upon  the  enemy -a  brisk  and  well-directed 
fire.  Woodruff's  battery  opened  to  that  of  the  enemy  under 
Captain  Tot'ten,  and  a  constant  cannonading  was  kept  up  be- 
tween these  batteries  during  the  action.  Hebert's  regiment  of 
Louisiana  volunteers  and  Mcintosh's  regiment  of  Arkansas 
mounted  riflemen  were  ordered  to  the  front,  and,  after  passing 
the  battery,  turned  to  the  left,  and  soon  engaged  the  enemy 
with  the  regiments  deployed.  Colonel  Mcintosh  dismounted 
his-  regiment,  and  the  two  marched  up  abreast  to  a  fence 
around  a  large  cornfield,  where  they  met  the  left  of  the 
enemy  already  posted.  A  terrible  conflict  of  small  arms  took 
place  here.  Despite  the  galling  fire  poured  upon  these  two 
regiments,  they  leaped  over  the  fence,  and,  gallantly  led  by 
their  colonels,  drove  the  enemy  before  them  back  upon  the 
main  body.  During  this  time,  the  Missourians,  under  General 
Price,  were  nobly  sustaining  themselves  in  the  centre,  and 
were  hotly  engaged  on  the  sides  of  the  height  upon  which 


158  THE   FIRST  YEAR  OF, THE  WAR. 

the  enemy  was  posted.  Some  distance  on  the  right,  General 
Seigel  had  opened  his  battery  upon  Churchill's  and  Green's 
regiments,  and  had  gradually  made  his  way  to  the  Springfield 
road,  upon  each  side  of  which  the  Confederates  were  en- 
camped, and  had  established  their  battery  in  a  strong  position. 
General  McCulloch  at  once  took  two  companies  of  the  Louis- 
iana regiment  which  were  nearest  to  him  at  the  time,  and 
marched  them  rapidly  from  the  front  and  right  to  the  rear, 
with  orders  to  Colonel  Mcintosh  to  bring  up  the  remainder. 
When  they  arrived  near  the  enemy's  battery,  they  found 
that  Reid's  battery  had  opened  upon  it,  and  that  it  was  al- 
ready in  confusion.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this,  and  soon 
the  Louisianians  gallantly  charged  upon  the  guns  and  swept 
the  cannoniers  away.  Five  guns  were  here  taken,  and  Seigel's 
forces  completely  routed.  They  commenced  a  rapid  retreat 
with  a  single  gun,  pursued  by  some  companies  of  the  Texas 
regiment  and  a  portion  of  Colonel  Major's  Missouri  regiment 
of  cavalry.  In  the  pursuit,  many  of  the  enemy  were  killed, 
and  his  last  gun  captured.  Having  cleared  their  right  and 
rear,  it  became  necessary 'for  the  Confederate  forces  to  direct 
all  their  attention  to  the  centre,  where  General  Lyon  was 
pressing  upon  the  Missourians  with  all  his  strength.  To  this 
point,  Mcintosh's  regiment  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Embry, 
and  Churchill's*  regiment  on  foot,  Gratiot's  regiment,  and 
McRae's  battalion,  were  sent  to  their  aid.  A  terrible  fire  of 
musketry  was  now  kept  up  along  the  whole  line  of  the  hill 
upon  which  the  enemy  was  posted.  Masses  of  infantry  fell 
back  and  again  rushed  forward.  The  summit  of  the  hill  was 
covered  with  the  dead  and  the  wounded.  Both  sides  were 
fighting  with  desperation  for  the  field.  Carroll's  and  Green's 
regiments,  led  gallantly  by  Captain  Bradfute,  charged  Totten's 
battery ;  but  the  whole  strength  of  the  enemy  were  immedi- 
ately in  the  rear,  and  a  deadly  fire  was  opened  upon  them. 
At  this  critical  moment,  when  the  fortunes  of  the  day  seemed 
to  be  at  the  turning  point,  two  regiments  of  General  Pierce's 
brigade  were  ordered  to  march  from  their  positions,  as  reserves, 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   "WAR.  159 

to  support  the  centre.  Reid's  battery  was  also  ordered  tt) 
move  forward,  and  the  Louisiana  regiment  -was  again  called 
into  action  on"  the  left  of  it.  The  battle  then  became  general, 
and  probably,  says  General  McCullbch,  in  his  official  report, 
"no  two  opposing  forces  ever  fought  with  greater  desperation; 
inch  by  inch  the  enemy  gave  way,  and  were  driven  from  their 
position.  Totten's  battery  fell  back — Missourians,  Arkansans, 
Louisianians  and  Texans  pushed  forward — the  incessant  roll 
of  musketry  was  deafening,  and  the  balls  fell  thick  as  hail- 
stones ;  but  still  our  gallant  Southerners  pushed  onward,  and, 
with  one  wild  yell,  broke  upon  the  enemy,  pushing  them  back, 
and  strewing  the  ground  with  their  dead.  Nothing  could  witli- 
stand  the  impetuosity  of  our  final  charge.  The  enemy  fled, 
and  could  not  be  again  rallied." 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Oak  Hill,  or  of  Wilson's  Creek,  as 
Gen.  Scigcl  called  it  in  his  official  report  to  the  Federal  author- 
ities. It  lasted  about  six  hours.  The  force  of  the  enemy  was 
stated  at  from  nine  to  ten  thousand,  and  consisted  for  the  most 
part  of  well-disciplined,  well-armed  troops,  a  large  portion  of 
them  belonging  to  the  old  United  States  army.  They  were  not 
prepared  for  the  signal  defeat  which  they  suffered.  Their  loss 
was  supposed  to  be  about  two  thousand  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners.  They  also  lost  six  pieces  of  artillery,  several  hun- 
dred stand  of  small  arms,  and  several  of  their  standards.  Maj. 
Gen.  Lyon,  their  chief  in  command,  was  killed,  and  many  of 
their  officers  were  wounded — some  of  them  high  in  rank.  Gen. 
McCulloch,  in  his  official  report,  statad  the.  entire  loss  on  the 
part  of  his  command  at  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  killed,  eight 
hundred  wounded,  and  thirty  missing.  Of  these,  the  Mis- 
sourians, according  to  Gen.  Price's  report,  lost  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  killed,  and  five  hundred  and  seventeen  wounded. 

The  victory  was  won  by  the  determined  valour  of  each  divi- 
sion of  the  army.  The  troops  from  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Loui- 
siana bore  themselves  with  a  gallantry  characteristic  of  their 
respective  States.  The  Missouri  troops  were  mostly  undisci- 
plined, but  they  had  fought  with  the  most  desperate  valour, 


160  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF.  THE   WAR. 

never  failing  to  advance*  when  ordered.  Repeatedly,  during 
the  action,  they  retired  from  their  position,  and  then  returned 
to  it  with  increased  energy  and  enthusiasm — a  feat  rarely  per- 
formed by  undisciplined  troops.  The  efficiency  of  the  double- 
barrel  shot  gun  and  the  walnut  stock  rifle,  was  abundantly  de- 
monstrated— these  being  the  only  arms  used  by  the  Missourians 
in  this  fight,  with  the  exception  of  the  four  hundred  muskets 
captured  from  the  enemy  on  the  two  occasions  already  named. 

Gen.  Lyon,  at  the  head  of  his  regulars,  was  killed  in  an  at- 
tempt to  turn  the  wing  mainly  defended  by  the  arms  of  the 
Missourians.  He  received  two  small  rifle  balls  or  buckshot  in 
tfle  heart,  the  one  just  above  the  left  nipple,  the  other  immedi- 
ately below  it.  He  had  been  previously  wounded  in  the  leg. 
His  surgeon  came  in  for  his  body,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  after 
the  close  of  the  battle,  and  Gen.  Price  sent  it  in.  his  own  wagon. 
But  the  enemy,  in  his  flight,  left  the  body  unshrouded  in  Spring- 
field. The  next  morning,  August  11th,  Lieut.  Col.  Gustavus 
Elgin  and  Col.  R.  H.  Mercer,  two  of  the  members  of  Brigadier- 
General  Clark's  staff,  caused  the  body  to  be  properly  prepared 
for  burial.  He  was  temporarily  interred  at  Springfield,  in  a 
metalic  coffin  procured  by  Mrs.  Phelps,  wife  of  John  S.  Phelps, 
a  former  member  of  the  Federal  Congress  from  that  district, 
and  now  an  officer  in  the  Lincoln  army.  A  few  days  after- 
wards, the  body  was  disinterred  and  sent  to  St.  Louis  to  await 
the  order  of  his  relatives  in  Connecticut. 

The  death  of  Gen.  Lyon  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  Federals 
in  Missouri.  He  was  aji  able  and  dangerous  man — a  man  of 
the  times,  who  appreciated  the  force  of  audacity  and  quick 
decision  in  a  revolutionary  war.  To  military  education  and 
talents,  he  united  a  rare  energy  and  promptitude.  No  doubt3 
or  scruples  unsettled  his  mjnd.  A  Connecticut  Yankee,  with- 
out a  trace  of  chivalric  feeling  or  personal  sensibility — one  of 
those  who  submit  to  insult  with  indifference,  yet  are  brave  on 
the  field — he  was  this  exception  to  the  politics  of  the  late 
regular  army  of  the  United  States,  that  he  was  an  unmiti- 
gated, undisguised  and  fanatical  Abolitionist. 


THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   "WAR.  1*61 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Oak  Hill,  the  Confederate  army 
returned  to  the  frontier  of  Arkansas,  Generals  McCulloch  and 
Price  having  failed  to  agree  upon  the  plan  of  campaign  in 
Missouri. 

In  Northern  Missouri,  the  bold  and  active  demonstrations  of 
Gen.  Harris  had  made  an  important  diversion  of  the  enemy  in 
favour  of  Gen.  Price.  These  demonstrations  had  been  so  suc- 
cessfully made,  that  they  diverted  eight  thousand  men  from  the 
support  of  Gen.  Lyon,  and  held  them  north  of  the  river  until 
after  the  battle  of  Oak  Hill,  thus  making  an  important  contri- 
bution to  the  glorious  issue  of  that  contest. 

The  history  of  the  war  presents  no  instance  of  a  more  heroic 
determination  of  a  people  to  accomplish  their  freedom,  than 
that  exhibited  by  the  people  of  Northern  Missouri.  Occupying 
that  portion  of  the  State  immediately  contiguous  to  the  Federal 
States  of  Kansas,  Iowa  and  Illinois,  penetrated  by  two  lines  of 
railroads,  intersecting  at  right  angles,  dividing  the  country 
north  and  south,  east  and  west — which  lines  of  railroad  were 
seized  and  occupied  by  the  enemy,  even  before  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities;  washed  on  every  side  fey  large,  navigable 
rivers  in  possession  of  the  enemy;  exposed  at  every  point  to 
the  inroads  of  almost  countless  Federal  hosts,-  the  brave  people 
of  Northern  Missouri,  without  preparation  or  organization,  did 
not  hesitate  to  meet  the  alternative  of  war,  in  the  face  of  a  foe 
confident  in  his  numbers  and  resources. 

On  the  21st  June,  1801,  a  special  messenger  from  Governor 
Jackson  overtook,  at  Paris,  Monroe  county,  Thomas  A.  Harris, 
who  was  then  en  route  as  a  private  soldier  to  the  rendezvous  at 
Boonville.  The  messenger  was  the  bearer  of  a  commission  by 
which  Thomas  A.  Harris  was  constituted  Brigadier-General  of 
the  Missouri  State  Guard,  and  assigned  to  the  duty  of  organiz- 
ing the  forces  for  the  defence  of  that  portion  of  the  State  north 
of  the  Missouri  river.  The  commission  was  accompanied  by 
orders  from  Gen.  Sterling  Price.  At  the  date  of  the  delivery 
of  the  commission  and  orders,  the  affair  at  Boonville  had 
transpired,  and  the  Governor  and  Gen*  Price,  with  such  of  the 
11 


162  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

forces  as  had  been  hastily  collected,  were,  as  already  stated,  in, 
full  retreat  before  the  enemy  in  the  direction  of  Southwestern 
Missouri. 

Gen.  Harris  was  without  any  organized  force  whatever;  with- 
out military  supplies  of  any  kind;  without  money  or  any  autho- 
rized agent  to  pledge  the  credit  of  the  State.  He  commenced 
recruiting  an  army  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  At  a  public 
meeting,  called  by  him,  he  delivered  a  stirring  and  patriotic 
address,  caused  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  South  to  be  ad- 
ministered to  himself  in  the  most  public  and  impressive  manner, 
and,  in  turn,  administered  the  same  oath  to  fifty-three  men, 
and  organized  them  into  a  company,  directing  them  to  return 
to  their  homes,  collect  their  private  arms,  and  join  him  without 
delay.  When  we  consider  that  this  bold  action  was  within 
three  hours  march  of  an  enemy  in  force,  and  that  it  invited  his 
bitter  resentment,  we  can  rightly  appreciate  the  heroism  and 
self-sacrificing  patriotism  of  the  participators. 

A  false  report  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy  caused  the 
evacuation  of  the  town  of  Paris,  where  quite  a  number  of  un- 
armed troops  had  assembled.  Gen.  Harris  retired  into  a  strong- 
hold in  the  knobs  of  Salt  river.  He  was  a  Brigadier-General, 
with  a  command  of  three  men,  and  a  few  officers  whqm  he  had 
appointed  upon  his  staff.  Here,  without  blankets,  tents,  or  any 
kind  of  army  equipments,  he  commenced  the  organization  of  a 
guerrilla  force,  which  was  destined  to  render  important  service 
in  the  progress  of  the  war  in  Missouri. 

Gen.  Harris  adopted  the  policy  of  secretly  organizing  his 
force,  the  necessity  for  such  secrecy  being  constantly  induced 
by  the  continued  presence  and  close  proximity  of  the  enemy. 
The  fact,  however,  that  Gen.  Lyon  was  moving  to  the  South- 
•west  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Price,  caused  him  to  attempt  a  diver- 
sion, which  was  successful,  as  has  been  stated,  in  holding  a  large 
Federal  force  north  of  the  Missouri  river.  Although  the  active 
duties  of  a  guerrilla  campaign  necessarily  involved  a  delay  in 
organization,  yet  Gen.  Harris  was  successful  in  raising  a  force 
of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty  men  in  the  very  face 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OP   THE   TVAR.  1G3 

of  the  enemy,  and  in  crossing  them  over  the  river;  and  after 
a  march  of  sixty-two  miles,  in  twenty-eight  hours,  he  united  his 
command  with  Gen.  Price  in  time  to  participate  in  the  memo- 
rable battle  of  Lexington.  To  follow  Gen.  Price's  command 
to  that  battle  field  we  must  now  turn. 

Late  in  August,  Gen.  Price,  abandoned  by  the  Confederate 
forces,  took  up  his  line  of  match  for  the  Missouri  river,  with 
an  armed  force  of  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  men1,  and 
Beven  pieces  of  cannon.  He  continued  to  receive  reinforce- 
ments from  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri  river. 

Hearing  that  the  notorious  trio  of  Abolition  bandits,  Jim 
Lane,  Montgomery  and  Jenison  were  at  Fort  Scott,  with  a  ma- 
rauding force  of  several  thousand,  and  not  desiring  them  to  get 
into  his  rear,  he  detoured  to  the  left  from  his  course  to  the 
Missouri  river,  marching  directly  to  Fort  Scott  for  the  purpose 
of  driving  them  up  the  river.  On  the  7th  of  September,  he 
met  with  Lane  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  Fort  Scott,  at  a 
stream  called  Drywood,  where  an  engagement  ensued  which 
lasted  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  resulting  in  the  complete  rout 
of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Price  then  sent  on  a  detachment  to  Fort 
Scott,  and  .found  that  the  enemy  had  evacuated  the  place.  He 
continued  his  march  in  the  direction  of  Lexington,  where  there 
was  a  Federal  army  strongly  entrenched,  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Mulligan. 

Gen.  Fremont,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Federal 
government  to  take  command  in  the  Missouri  department,  had 
inaugurated  the  campaign  with  a  brutality  towards  his  enemy, 
a  selfish  splendour  in  his  camp,  and  a  despotism  and  corruption 
more  characteristic  of  an  Eastern  satrap  than  an  American 
commander  in  the  nineteenth  century.  He  had  published  a  pro- 
clamation absolutely  confiscating  the  estates  and  slave  property 
of  "rebels,"  which  measure  of  brutality  was  vastly  pleasing  to 
the  Abolitionists  of  the  North,  who  recognized  the  extinction 
of  negro  slavery  in  the  South  as  the  essential  object  of  the 
war,  but  was  not  entirely  agreeable  to  the  government  at  Wash- 


164  THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

ington,  which  was  not  quite  ready  to  declare  the  extremity  to 
which  it  proposed  to  prosecute  the  war. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  just  as  General  Price  was  about 
to  encamp  with  his  forces  for  the  day,  he  learned  that  a  de- 
tachment of  Federal  troops  were  marching  from  Lexington  to 
Warrensburg  to  seize  the  funds  of  the  bank  in  that  place,  and  ' 
to  arrest  and  plunder  the  citizens  of  Johnson  county,  in  ac- 
cordance with  General  Fremont's  proclamation  and  instruc- 
tions. Although  his  men  were  greatly  fatigued  by  several 
days'  continuous  and  rapid  marching,  General  Price  deter- 
mined to  press  forward,  so  as  to  surprise  the  enemy,  if  pos- 
sible, at  Warrensburg.  After  resting  a  few  hours,  he  resumed 
his  march  at  sunset,  and  continued  it* without  intermission  till 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  it  became  evident  that  the 
infantry,  very  few  of  whom  had  eaten  anything  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  could  march  no  further.  He  then  halted  thera, 
and  went  forward  with  the  greater  portion  of  his  mounted  men 
till  he  came,  about  day-break,  within  view  of  "Warrensburg, 
where  he  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  hastily  fled  about 
midnight,  burning  the  bridges  behind  him.  A  heavy  rain 
commenced  about  the  same  time.  This  circumstance,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  his  men  had  been  fasting  for  more  than 
twenty-four  hours,  constrained  General  Price  to  abandon  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  that  day.  His  infantry  and  artillery 
having  come  up,  he  encamped  at  Warrensburg,  where  the 
citizens  vied  with  each  other  in  feeding  his  almost  famished 
soldiers. 

A  violent  storm  delayed  the  march  next  morning  till  the 
hour  of  ten  o'clock.  General  Price  then  pushed  rapidly  for- 
ward, still  hoping  to  overtake  the  enemy.  Finding  it  impos- 
sible to  do  this  with  his  infantry,  he  again  ordered  a  detach- 
ment of  mounted  men  to  move  forward,  and,  placing  himself  at 
their  head,  continued  the  pursuit  to  within  two  and  a  half  miles 
of  Lexington,  where  he  halted  for  the  night,  having  learned  ' 
that  the  enemy's  forces  had  all  gone  within  the  city. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  165 

THE    BATTLE    OF   LEXINGTON. 

About  day-break  the  next  morning,  a  sharp  skirmish  took 
place  between  the  Missouri  pickets  and  the  enemy's  outposts. 
A  general  action  was  threatened,  but  General  Price,  being  un- 
willing to  risk  an  engagement  when  a  short  delay  would  make 
success,  in  his  estimation,  perfectly  certain,  fell  back  two  or 
three  miles,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  his  infantry  and  cavalry. 
These  having  come  up,  he  advanced  upon  the  town,  driving  in 
the  Federal  pickets,  until  he  came  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  city.  Here  the  enemy's  forces  attempted  to  make*  a  stand, 
but  they  were  speedily  driven  from  every  position,  and  com- 
pelled to  take  shelter  within  their  entrenchments.  The  enemy 
having  strongly  fortified  the  College  Building,  the  Missourians 
took  their  position  within  easy  range  of  it,  and  opened  a  brisk 
fire  from  Bledsoe's  and  Parsons'  batteries.  Finding,  after 
sunset,  that  his  ammunition,  the  most  of  which  had  been  left 
behind  in  the  march  from  Springfield,  was  nearly  exhausted, 
and  that  his  men,  most  of  whom  had  not  eaten  any  thing  in 
thirty-six  hours,  required  rest  and  food,  General  Price  with- 
drew to  the  Fair  Ground,  and  encamped  there.  His  ammuni- 
tion wagons  having  been  at  last  brought  up,  and  large  rein- 
forcements having  come  in,  he  a^ain  moved  into  town  on  the 
18th,  and  commenced  the  final  attack  upon  the  enemy's  works. 
Brigadier-General  Raines'  division  occupied  a  strong  position 
on  the  east  and  northeast  of  the  fortifications,  from  which 
position  an  effective  cannonading  was  kept  up  on  the  enemy 
by  Bledsoe's  battery  and  another  battery  commanded  by  Capt. 
Churchill  Clark,  of  St.  Louis.  General  Parsons  took  his  posi- 
tion southwest  of  the  works.  Skirmishers  and  sharp-shooters 
were  sent  forward  from  both  of  these  divisions  to  harass  and * 
fatigue  the  enemy  and  cut  them  off  from  water  on  the  north, 
east  and  south  of  the  college,  and  did  great  service  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  detached. 
Colonel   Congreve  Jackson's  division  and  a  part  of  General 


16G  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

Stein's  were  posted  near  General  Raines  and  General  Parsons  • 
as  a  reserve. 

Shortly  after  entering  the  city  .on  the  18th,  Colonel  Rives, 
who  commanded  the  fourth  division  in  the  absence  of  General 
Slack,  led  his  regiment  and  Colonel  Hughes'  along  the  river 
bank  to  a  point  immediately  beneath  and  west  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, General  McBride's  command  and  a  portion  of  General 
Harris'  having  Been  ordered  to  reinforce  him.  Colonel  Rives, 
in  order  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  means  of  escape,  proceeded 
down  the  bank  of  the  river «to  capture  a  steamboat  which  was 
lying  immediately  under  their  guns.  Just  at  this  moment,  a 
heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  him  from  a  large  dwelling-house, 
known  as  Anderson's  house,  on  the  summit  of  the  bluff,  which 
the  enemy  was  occupying  as  a  hospital,  and  from  which  a  white 
flag  was  flying.  Several  companies  of  General  Harris'  com- 
mand and  the  soldiers  of  the  fourth  division,  who  had  won 
much  distinction  in  previous  battles,  immediately  rushed  upon 
and  took  the  place.  The  important  position  thus  secured  was 
within  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards  of  the  enemy's  en- 
trenchments. A  company  from  Colonel  Hughes'  regiment 
then  took  possession  of  the  boats,  one  of  which  was  freighted 
with  valuable  stores.  General  McBride's  and  General  Harris' 
divisions  meanwhile  stormed  and  occupied  the  bluffs  immedi- 
ately north  of  Anderson's  house.  The  position  of  these  heights 
enabled  the  assailants  to  harass  the  enemy  so  greatly,  that, 
resolving  to  regain  them,  he  made'upon  the  house  a  successful 
assault,  and  one,  said  General  Price,  which  would  have  been 
honorable  to  him  had  it  not  been  accompanied  by  an  act  of 
savage  barbarity,  the  cold-blooded  and  cowardly  .murder  of 
three  defenceless  men  who  had  laid  down  their  arms,  and  sur- 
rendered themselves  as  prisoners.  The  position  thus  retaken 
by  the  enemy  was  soon  regained  by  the  brave  men  who  had 
been  driven  from  it,  and  was  thenceforward  held  by  them  to 
the  very  end  of  the  contest. 

The  heights  on  the  left  of  Anderson's  house  were  fortified 
by  our  troops  with  such  means  as  were  at  their  command.     On 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  167 

the  morning  of  the  20th,  General  Price  caused  a  number  of 
hemp  bales  to  be  transported  to  the  river  heights,  -where  move- 
able breastworks  were  speedily  constructed  out  of  them.  The 
demonstrations  of  the  artillery,  and  particularly  the  continued 
advance  of  the  hempen  breastworks,  attracted  the  attention 
and  excited  the  alarm  of  the  enemy,  who  made  many  daring 
attempts  to  drive  back  the  assailants.  They  were,  however, 
repulsed  in  every  instance  by  the  unflinching  courage  and 
fixed  determination  of  men  fighting  for  their  homes.  The 
hempen  breastworks,  said  General  Trice,  were  as  efficient  as 
the  cotton  bales  at  New  Orleans.  In  these  severe  encounters, 
McBride's  and  Slack's  divisions,  and  Colonel  Martin  Green 
and  his  command,  and  Colonel  Bf>yd  and  Major  Winston  and 
their  commands,  were  warmly  commended  for  their  gallant 
conduct. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  20th,  and  after 
fifty-two  hours  of  continuous  fighting,  a  white  flag  was  dis- 
played by  the  enemy  on  that  part  of  his  works  nearest  to  Col. 
Green's  position,  and  shortly  afterwards  another  was  displayed 
opposite  to  Col.  Rives'  position.  General  Price  immediately 
ordered  a  cessation  of  all  firing,  and  sent  forward  his  staff 
officers  to  ascertain  the  object  of  the  flag,  and  to  open  negotia- 
tions with  the  enemy,  if  such  should  be  his  desire.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  Federal  forces  should  lay  down  their  arms  and 
surrender  themselves  prisoners  of  war. 

The  entire  loss  of  the  Missourians  in  this  series  of  battles 
was  but  twenty-five  killed  and  seventy-two  wounded.  The 
enemy's  loss  was  considerably  larger,  but  cannot  be  stated 
here  with  accuracy.  The  visible  fruits  of  the  victory  to  the 
Missourians  were  great:  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  pri- 
soners— among  whom  were  Cols.  Mulligan,  Marshall,  Peabody, 
White,  Grover,  Major  Van  Horn,  and  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
other  commissioned  officers ;  five  pieces  of  artillery  and  two 
mortars  ;  over  three  thousand  stand  of  infantry  arms,  a  large 
number  of  6abres,  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  horses,  many 
sets  of  cavalry  equipments,  wagons,  teams,  some  ammunition, 


168  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

more  than  $100,000  worth  of  commissary  stores,  and  a  large 
amount  of  other  property.  In  addition  to  all  this,. General 
Price  obtained  the  restoration  of  the  great  seal  of  the  State,  of 
the  public  records,  and  about  $1)00,000  of  which  the  bank  at 
Lexington  had  been  robbed,  in  accordance  with  Fremont's  in- 
structions. General  Price  caused  the  money  to  be  returned  at 
once  to  the  bank.  ( 

In  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  General 
Price  paid  a  high  compliment  to  the  command  that  had 
achieved  such  rich  and  substantial  fruits  of  victory.  "  This 
victory,"  he  wrote,  "has  demonstrated  the  .fitness  of  our 
citizen  soldiery  for  the  tedious  operations  of  a  siege,  as  well 
as  for  a  dashing  charge.  They  lay  for  fifty-two  hours  in  the 
open  air,  without  tents  or  covering,  regardless  of  the  sun  and 
rain,  and  in  the  very  presence  of  a  watchful  and  desperate  foe,  * 
manfully  repelling  every  assault  and  patiently  awaiting  my 
orders  to  storm  the  fortifications.  No  general  ever  commanded 
a  braver  or  better  army.  It  is  composed  of  the  best  blood  and 
bravest  men  of  Missouri." 

During  the  siege,  quite  a  number  of  citizens  came  in  from 
the  neighboring  country,  and  fought,  as  they  expressed  it, 
"  on  their  own  hooks."  A  participator  in  the  battle  tells  an 
anecdote  of  an  oM  man,  about  sixty  years  of  age,  who  came  up 
daily  from  his  farm,  with  his  walnut-stock  rifle  and  a  basket  of 
provisions,  and  went  to  work  just  as  if  he  were  engaged  in 
mauling  rails  or  some  other  necessary  labour  of  his  farm.  He 
took  his  position  behind  a  large  stump  upon  the  descent  of  the 
hill  on  which  the  fortification  was  constructed,  where  he  fired 
with  deadly  aim  during  each  day  of  the  siege. 
•  When  the  surrender  was  made,  and  the  forces  under  Colonel 
Mulligan  stacked  their  arms,  General  Price  ordered  that  they 
were  not  to  be  insulted  by  word  or  act,  assigning  as  the  rea- 
son therefor,  that  they  had  fought  like  brave  men,  and  were 
entitled  to  "be  treated  as  such.  When  Colonel  Mulligan  sur- 
rendered his  sword,  General  Price  asked  him  for  the  scabbard. 
Mulligan  replied  that  he  had  thrown  it  away.     The  general, 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  169 

upon  receiving  his  sword,  returned  it  to  him,  saying,  he  dis- 
liked to  see  a  man  of  his  valour  without  a  sword.  Mulligan 
refused  to  be  paroled,  upon  the  ground  that  his  government 
did  not  acknowledge  the  Missourians  as  belligerents.  While 
awaiting  his  exchange,  Colonel  Mulligan  and  his  wife  became 
the  guests  of  General  Price,  the  general  surrendering  to  them 
his  carriage,  and  treating  them  with  the  most  civil  and  obliging 
hospitality.  The  captive  colonel  and  his  lady  were  treated  by 
all  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Missouri  army  with  a  courtesy 
and  kindness  which  they  seemed  to  appreciate. 

After  the  first  day's  conflict  at  Lexington,  whilst  General 
Trice  was  encamped  at  the  Fair  Grounds  near  the  city,  await- 
ing reinforcements  and  preparing  the  renewal  of  the  attack,  an 
episode  occurred  at  some  distance  from  the  city,  in  which  the 
Missourians  again  had  the  satisfaction  of  inflicting  a  terrible 
chastisement  upon  the  bandits  of  the  Lane  and  Montgomery 
organization. 

Gen.  Price  was  informed  that  four  thousand  men  under  Lane 
and  Montgomery  were  advancing  from  the  direction  of  St. 
Joseph,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  Gen.  Stur- 
gis,  with  fifteen  hundred  cavalry,  was  also  advancing  from  the 
Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroad,  for  the  purpose  of  relieving 
the  forces  under  Mulligan.  About  twenty-five  hundred  Mis- 
sourians, under  the  immediate  command  of  Col.  Saunders,  were, 
at  the  same  time,  hurrying  to  the  aid  of  Gen.  Price,  from  the 
same  direction  with  the  Lane  and  Montgomery  Jayhawkers; 
and  having  reached  the  run  at  Blue  Mills,  thirty  miles  above 
Lexington,  on  the  17th  September,  crossed  over  their  force, 
.except  some  five  hundred  men,  in  a  ferry  boat.  Whilst  the 
remainder  were  waiting  to  cross  over,  the  Jayhawkers  attacked 
the  five  hundred  Missourians  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river. 
The  battle  raged  furiously  for  one  hour  on  the  river  bottom, 
Avhich  was  heavily  timbered  and  in  many  places  covered  with 
water.  The  Missourians  were  armed  with  only  shot  guns  and 
rifles,  and  taken  by  surprise,  no  time  was  given  them  tc  call 
back  any  portion  of  their  force  on  the  south  side  of  the  river; 


170  THE   FIRST    TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

but  they  were  from  the  counties  contiguous  to  Kansas,  accus- 
tomed in  the  border  wars  since  1854  to  almost  monthly  fights 
witk  the  Kanas  "  Jayhawkers,"  under  Lane,  and  were  fired 
with  the  most  intense  hatred  of  him  and  of  them.  Gen.  D.  R. 
Atchison,  former  President  of  the  United  States  Senate,  and 
well  known  as  one  of  the  boldest  leaders  of  ,the  State  Rights 
party  in  Missouri,  had  been  sent  from  Lexington  by  Gen.  Price 
to  meet  our  troops  under  Col.  Saunders  and  hasten  them  on  to 
his  army.  He  was  with  the  five  hundred,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  when  they  were  attacked,  and  by  his  presence  and 
example  cheered  them  in  the  conflict.  Charging  the  "  Jay- 
hawkers,"  with  shouts  of  almost  savage  ferocity,  and  fighting 
with  reckless  valour,  the  Missourians  drove  the  enemy  back  a 
distance  of  ten  miles,  the  conflict  becoming  a  hand-to-hand  fight, 
between  detached  parties  on  both  sides.  At  length,  unable  to 
support  the  fearful  fire  of  the  Missourians  at  the  short  distance 
of  forty  yards,  the  enemy  broke  into  open  flight.  The  loss 
of  the  Jayhawkers  was  very  considerable.  Their  official  report 
admitted  one  hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  some  two  hundred 
wounded.  The  entire  loss  of  the  Missourians  was  five  killed 
and  twenty  wounded.  The  intelligence  of  this  brilliant  victory 
of  "the  five  hundred,"  was  received  with  shouts  of  exultation 
by  Price's  army  at  Lexington. 

On  the  second  day  after  the  battle  of  Blue  Mills,  Col.  Saun- 
ders, with  his  command,  joined  the  army  at  Lexington,  and 
fought  gallantly  till  the  surrender  of  the  Federal  garrison.  In 
the  mean  time,  Sturgis  with  his  cavalry  appeared  on  the  river 
bank  opposite  Lexington,  expecting  to  cross  over  in  the  boats 
of  Mulligan,  and  reinforce  him  to  the  extent  of  fourteen  hun- 
dred men.  It  happened,  however,  that  on  the  day  before  his 
arrival,  Gen.  Price's  forces  had  captured  all  of  the  enemy's 
boats,  and  Gen.  Sturgis,  ascertaining  this  fact,  retreated  pre- 
cipitately in  the  direction  from  which  he  came.  Gen.  Price  had 
sent  across  the  river  two  thousand  men  under  Gen.  Parsons,  to 
meet  the  forces  under  Gen.  Sturgis,  and  they  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing all  the  tents  and  camp  equipage  of  that  distinguished 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  171 

Yankee  cammander.  .  The  tents  were  most  acceptable  to  the 
Missourians,  as  they  were  the  first  they  had  obtained  in  the 
war,  except  one  hundred  and  fifty  taken  at  Springfield.  Gen. 
Sturgis  did  not  stop  in  his  flight  for  three  days  and  three  nights. 
The  capture  of  Lexington  had  crowned  Gen.  Price's  com- 
mand with  a  brilliant.victory,  and,  so  far,  the  Missouri  campaign 
had  proceeded,  step  by  step,  from  one  success  to  another.  It 
was  at  this  period,  however,  that  Gen.  Trice  found  his  position 
I  one  of  the  greatest  emergency.  After  the  victory  of  Lexing- 
ton, he  received  intelligence  that  the  Confederate  forces,  under 
Generals  Pillow  and  Hardee,  had  been  withdrawn  from  the 
southeastern  portion  of  the  State.  Gen.  McCulioch  had  re- 
tired to  "Arkansas.  In  these  circumstances,  Gen.  Price  was' 
left  with  the  only  forces  in  Missouri,  to  confront  an  enemy 
seventy  thousand  strong,  and,  being  almost  entirely  without 
ammunition,  he  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  making  a  retro- 
grade movement. 

Before  leaving  Springfield,  Gen.  Trice'had  made  arrange- 
ments for  an  ample  supply  of  ammunition,  then  at  Jacksons- 
port,  Arkansas,  to  be  sent  to  him  in  Missouri,  Gen.  McCulioch 
promising  to  send  a  safe  escort  for  it.  Gen.  McCulioch  subse- 
quently declined  to  furnish  the  esoort  and  stopped  the  train, 
assigning  as  the  reason  therefor  that,  under  the  circumstances 
then  existing,  it  would  be  unsafe  to  send  it,  and  that  Gen. 
Price  would  be  compelled  to  fall  back  from  the  Missouri  river, 
before  the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  enemy  moving  against 
him  under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Fremont. 

Having  no  means  of  transportation,  except  for  a  limited 
number  of  men,  and  surrounded  by  circumstances  of  the  most 
painful  and  unlooked-for  misfortune,  Gen.  Price  was  compelled 
to  disband  a  considerable  portion  of  his  forces.  No  occasion 
could  be  more  fraught  with  mortifying  reflections  to  the  brave, 
generous  and  hopeful  spirit  of  such  a  commander  as  Gen.  Price. 
He  had  marched  from  success  to  success;  he  had  raised  a  force 
from  hundreds  to  tens  of  thousands;  his  army  had  been  swelled 
to  twenty-three  thousand  during  his  stay  at  Lexington,  not 


172  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

enumerating  ten  thousand  volunteers  who  had  collected  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Missouri  about  the  period  when  he  commenced 
a  retreat,  compelled  by  emergencies,  which  the  most  daring 
valour  could  no  longer  hope  to  surmount.  Gen.  Price  advised 
all  who  could  not  accompany  him  to  take  care  of  such  arms  as 
they  had,  to  cherish  a  determined  spirit,  and  to  hold  .themselves 
in  readiness  for  another  opportunity  to  join  his  standard. 

In  Southeastern  Missouri,  the  operations  of  the  partisan,  Jeff. 
Thompson,  in  connection  with  Gen.  Hardee's  command,  had 
attracted  some  public  notice  from  its  adventure  and  some  inci- 
dents of  interest.  But  the  campaign  in  the  Ozark  mountains 
was  not  productive  of  any  important  or  serious  results.  Gen. 
Thompson  and  his  "Swamp  Fox  Brigade"  gave  many  rash 
illustrations  of  daring  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  At  one  time, 
he  burnt  an  important  railroad  bridge  within  fifty  miles  of  the 
city. of  St.  Louis,  which  was  swarming  with  Federal  troops. 
On  a  march  towards  Fredericktown,  with  a  force  of  twelve 
hundred  men,  Gen.  Thompson  encountered  a  Federal  force 
numbering  ten  thousand  men,  which  he  engaged  with  such  skill 
and  courage  as  to  check  the  enemy's  pursuit  and  move  his  little 
force  out  of  danger.  The  feat  showed  extraordinary  military 
skill,  when  we  consider  that  the  small  force  was  extricated  with 
only  twenty  killed,  while  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  counted  by 
hundreds ;  and  .that  his  pursuit  was  baffled  only  from  the  im- 
pression of  a  large  force  opposed  to  him,  which  was  given  by 
the  skillful  disposition'  of  ambuscades. 

Gen.  Price  commenced  his  retreat  about  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber. He  sent  his  cavalry  forward,  and  directed  them  to  make 
a  demonstration  in  the  neighborhood  of  Georgetown,  fifty  miles 
from  Lexington,  where  Fremont  was  concentrating  his  forces 
with  a  view  of  surrounding  him.  With  Sturgis  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  Lane  on,  the  west,  and  himself  on  the  east, 
each  advancing  upon  Lexington,  Fremont  expected  to  cut  off 
and  capture  the  entire  force  of  the  Missourians.  Gen.  Price 
supplied  his  mounted  men' with  provisions  for  several  days,  and 
directed  them  to  make  demonstrations  on  each  of  the  divisions 


THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  173 

of  the  Federals,  so  as  to  gain  time  for  the  safe  retreat  of  his 
infantry. and  artillery.  .  By  this  means,  he  succeeded  in  deceiv- 
ing the  enemy  as  to  his  real  purpose;  inducing  Fremont,  Lane 
and  Sturgis  to  believe,  that  he  was  about  to  attack  each  of  them. 
Each  of  them  fell  back,  and  Fremont  commenced  ditching. 

In  the  mean  time,  Price's  infantry  and  artillery  were  making 
the  best  time  they  could  towards  the  south.  They  had  to  en- 
counter a  very  serious  obstacle  in  crossing  streams  swollen  by 
the  recent  rains.  The  whole  command,  fifteen  thousand  strong, 
crossed  the  Osage  river  in  two  common  flat  boats,  constructed 
for  the  occasion  by  mei»  who  could  boast  of  no  previous  expe- 
rience either  as  graduates  of  military  schools,  or  even  as  bridge 
builders. 

Subsequently.  General  Fremont  was  fifteen  days  engaged  in 
crossing  at  the  same  place,  upon  his  pontoon  bridges.  The  su- 
periority of  the  practical  man  of  business,  over  the  scientific 
engineer  and  "; path-finder,"  was  demonstrated  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  Missourians. 

Gen.  Price  continued  his  retreat  to  Neosho,  at  which  place 
the  Legislature  had  assembled,  under  a  proclamation  from  Go- 
vernor Jackson. 

At  Neosho,  Gen.  Price  again  formed  a  junction  with  Gen. 
McCulloch,  at  the  head  of  five  thousand  men.  The  legisla- 
ture had  passed  the  Ordinance  of  Secession,  and  elected  dele- 
gates to  the  Provisional  Congress  of  the  Southern  Confederacy; 
and  here. Gen.  Price  had  the  satisfaction  of  firing  one  hundred 
guns,  in  honour  of  the  formal  secession  of  Missouri  from  the 
United  Staies,  to  which  his  services  in  the  field  had  more  than* 
any  thing  else  contributed. 

Gen.  McCulloch  remained  a  day  or  two  in  Neosho,  and. then 
fell  back  with  his  forces  to  Cassville.  Price  remained  ten 
days  in  Neosho,  and  then  retreated  also  to  Cassville,  and  from 
Cassville  to  Pirleville,  in  McDonald  county. 

Meanwhile,  General  Fremont,  with  his  grand  army  of  sixty 
thousand  men,  equipped  in  the  most  splendid  and  costly  man- 
ner,   had   concentrated   his   forces   at   Springfield,    throwing 


174  THE    FIRST  YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

forward  an  advance  of  ten  thousand  men  under  Gen.  Seigel  to 
Wilson's  Creek.  The  Missouri  forces  at  Springfield,  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Taylor,  were  ordered  by  General  Price 
to  fall  back  upon  the  approach  of  the  enemy  ;  but  in  leaving 
the  town  they  encountered  Fremont's  body  guard,  three  times 
their  own  number,  armed  with  Colt's  rifles  and  commanded  by 
Col.  Zagowye.  A  conflict  ensued,  in  which  fifty  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  and  twenty-five  captured,  including  a  Major.  The 
loss  of  the  Missourians  was  one  killed  and  three  wounded. 

At  Pineville,  General  Price  made  preparations  to  receive 
Fremont,  determined  not  to  abandon  Missouri  without  a  battle. 
His  troops  were  enthusiastic  and  confident  of  success,  notwith- 
standing the  fearful  superiority  of  numbers  against  them.  They 
were  in  daily  expectation  of  being  led  by  their  commander 
into  the  greatest  battle  of  the  war,  when  they  received  the 
unexpected  intelligence  that  Fremont  had  been  superseded  as 
commander  of  the  Federal  forces.  This  event  had  the  effect 
of  demoralizing  the  Federal  forces  to  such  an  extent,  that 
their  numbers  would  have  availed  them  nothing  in  a  fiffht  with 
their  determined  foe.  The  Dutch,  who  were  greatly  attached 
to  Fremont,  broke  out  into  open  mutiny,  and  the  acting  officers 
in  command  saw  that  a  retreat  from  Springfield  was  not  only 
a  wise  precaution, 'but  an  actual  necessity.  They  accordingly 
left  that  town  in  the  direction  of  Rolla,  and  were  pursued  by 
Gen.  Price  to  Oceola.  From  Oceola  Gen  Price  fell  back  to 
Springfield,  to  forage  his  army  and  obtain  supplies;  and  here, 
for  the  present,  we  must  leave  the  history  of  his  campaign. 
We  have  now  traced  that  history  to  a  period  about  the  first  of 
December.  ' 

From  the  20th  of  June  to  the  1st  of  December,  General 
Price's  army  marched  over  800  miles,  averaging  ten  thousand 
men  during  the  time.  What  they  accomplished,  the  reader 
will  decide  for  himself,  upon  the  imperfect  sketch  here  given. 
They  fought  five  battles,  and  at  least  thirty  skirmishes,  in  some 
of  which  from  fifty  to  hundreds  were  killed  on  one  side  or  the 
other.     Not  a  week  elapsed  between  engagements  of  some  sort. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  175 

They  started  -without  a  dollar,  without  a  wagon  or  team,  with- 
out a  cartridge,  without  a  bayonet  gun.  On  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember, they  had  about  eight  thousand  bayonet  guns,  fifty 
pieces  of  cannon,  four  hundred  tents,  and  many  other  articles 
needful  in  an  army  ;  for  nearly  all  of  which  they  were  indebted 
to  their  own  strong  arms  in  battle  and  to  the  prodigality  of  the 
enemy  in  providing  more  than  he  could  take  care  of  in  his 
campaign. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  exposure  to  which  the  Missouri 
troops  were  subjected,  not  fifty-  died  of  disease  during  their  six 
months'  campaign,  and  but  few  were  on  the  sick  list  at  the  close 
of  it.  The  explanation  is,  that  the  troops  were  all  the  time  in 
motion,  and  thus  escaped  the  camp  fever  and  other  diseases, 
that  prove  so  fatal  to  armies  standing  all  the  time  in  a  defensive 
position. 

SKETCH    OF    GENERAL    PRICE. 

The  man  who  had  conduct^  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
campaigns  of  the  war — Sterling  Price — was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  born  about  the  year  1810  in  Prince  Edward 
county,  a  county  which  had  given  birth  to  two  other  military 
notabilities — General  John  Coffee,  the  "right-hand  man"  of 
General  Jackson  in  his  British  and  Indian  campaigns,  and 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  already  distinguished  as  one  of 
the  heroes  of  the  present  war. 

Sterling  Price  emigrated  to  Missouri,  and  settled  in  Charlton 
county,  in  the  interior  of  that  State,  in  the  year  1830,  pur- 
suing there  the  quiet  avocations  of  a  farmer. 

In  the  year  1844  Mr.  Price  was  nominated  by  his  party  as 
d,  candidate  for  Congress,  and  was  elected  by  a  decided 
majority.  He  took  his  seat  in  December,  1845 ;  but  having 
failed  to  receive  the  party  nomination  in  the^  following  spring, 
he  resigned  his  seat  and  returned  home.  His  course  in  this 
respect  was  dictated  by  that  conscientious  integrity  and  hiodi 
sense  of  honour  which  have  ever  distinguished  him  in  all  the 
relations  of  life.     He  argued  that  his  defeat  was  caused  either 


176  THE   FIRST  YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

}>j  dissatisfaction  with  his  course  on  the  part  of  his  con- 
stituents, or  else  by  undue  influences  which  had  been  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  people  by  ambitious  aspirants  for  the  seat, 
who  could  labour  to  a  great  advantage  in  their  work  .of  supplant- 
ing an  opponent  who  was  attending  to  his  duties  at  a 
distance  from  them.  If  the  former  was  the  case,  he  was 
unwilling  to  misrepresent  his  constituents,  who,  he  believed, 
had  the  right  to  instruct  him  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue  ; 
if  the  latter,  his  self-respect  would  not  allow  him  to  serve  a 
people  who  had  rejected  him  without  cause,  while  he  was  doing 
all  in  his  power  to  advance  their  interests. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Price's  retirement  from  Congress,  hostili- 
ties hud  broken  out  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  and 
volunteers  from  all  parts  of  the  South  were  flocking  to  the 
defence  of  their  country's  flag.  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, bred  a  soldier,  who,  like  Mr.  Price,  was  serving  his 
first  term  in  Congress,  resigned  his  seat  about  the  same  time, 
and  was  soon  marching  at  the  head  of  a  Mississippi  regiment 
to  the  field,  from  which  he  was  destined  to  return  loaded  with 
many  honours.  So,  too,  did  a  brave  Missouri  regiment  call  to 
its  head  her  own  son,  who  had  just  doffed  his  civil  robes  to 
enter  a  new  and  untried  field  of  duty  and  honour.  The 
regiment  to  which  Colonel  Price  was  attached  was  detailed  for 
duty  in  what  is  now  the  territory  of  New  Mexico.  It  was 
by  his  own  arms  that  that  province  was  subdued,  though 
not  without  several  brilliant  engagements,  in  which  he  dis- 
played the  same  gallantry  that  has  so  distinguished  him  in  the 
present  contest. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  a  violent  politi- 
cal excitement  broke  out  in  Missouri.  The  slavery  agitation 
had  received  a  powerful  impetus  by  the  introduction  into  Con- 
gress of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  and  other  sectional  measures, 
whose  avowed  Object  was  to  exclude  the  South  from  any  portion 
of  the  territory  which  had  been  acquired  principally  by  the 
blood  of  Southern  soldiers.  The  people  of  the  South  became 
justly  alarmed  at  the  spread  of  Abolitionism  at  the.  North,  and 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  177 

no  people  were  more  jealous  of  any  encroachment  upon  the 
rights  of  the  South  than  the  citizens  of  Missouri,  a  majority  of 
whose  leading  statesmen  were  as  sound  on  the  slavery  question 
as  those  of  Virginia  or  South  Carolina.  In  order  to  cause  Col. 
Benton,  who  had  become  obnoxious  to  a  large  portion  of  the 
Democratic  party  by  his  course  on  the'  Texas  question,  the 
Wilmot  Proviso  and  other  measures  of  public  policy,  to  resign 
his  seat,  and  for  the  purpose  of  casting  the  weight  of  the  State 
against  the  surging  waves  of  Abolitionism,  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions, commonly  known  as  the  "  Jackson  resolutions,"  was 
introduced  into  the  Senate  at  the  session  of  1848-9,  by  Clai- 
borne F.  Jackson,  the  present  Governor  of  Missouri,  which 
passed  both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly.  These  resolu- 
tions were  substantially  the  same  as  those  introduced  the  year 
before  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  into  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
From  the  Legislature  Col.  Benton  appealed  to  the  people  and 
made  a  vigorous  canvass  against  the  Jackson  resolutions  through- 
out the  whole  State,  marked  by  extraordinary  ability  and 
bitterness  towards  their  author  and  principal  supporters.  The 
sixth  resolution,  which  pledged  Missouri  to  "  co-operate  with 
her  sister  States  in  any  measures  they  might  adopt,"  to  defend 
their  rights  against  the  encroachments  of  the  North,  was  the 
object  of  his  special  denunciation  and  his  most  determined 
opposition.  He  denounced  it  as  the  essence  of  nullification, 
and  ransacked  the  vocabulary  of  billingsgate  for  coarse  and 
vulgar  epithets  to  apply  to  its  author  and  advocates.  But  his 
herculean  efforts  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  resolutions 
proved  abortive.  Colonel  Tenton  was  defeated  for  the  Senate 
the  next  year  by  a  combination  of  Democrats  and  State-Rights 
Whigs ;  and  the  Jackson  resolutions  remain  on  the  statute 
book  unrepealed  to  this  day.  Their  author  is  Governor  of  the 
State ;  their  principal  supporters  are  fighting  to  drive  myrmi- 
dons of  Abolitionism  from  the  soil  of  Missouri ;  and  how  nobly 
the  State  has  redeemed  her  pledge  to  "  co-operate  with  her 
sister  States,"  the  glorious  deeds  of  her  hardy  sons,  who  have 
fought  her  battles  almost  single-handed,  who  have  struggled 
12 


178  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

on  through  neglect  and  hardship  and  suffering  without  ever 
dreaming  of  defeat,  afford  the  most  incontestible  evidence. 

In  the  canvass  of  1852,  the  Anti-Benton  Democrats  put  for- 
ward Gen.  Sterling  Price  as  their  choice  for  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor, and  the  Bentonites  supported  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Price,  at 
that  time  lieutenant-governor,  and  now  a  member  of  Lincoln's 
Congress  and  a  brigadier-general  in  Lincoln's  army.  The 
Anti-Bentonites  triumphed,  and  the  nomination  fell  on  Gen. 
Sterling  Price,  who,  receiving  the  vote  of  the  whole  Demo- 
cratic party,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  over  an  eloquent 
and  popular  Whig,  Colonel  Winston,  a  grandson  of  Patrick 
Henry. 

The  administration  of  Gov.  Price  was  distinguished  for  an 
earnest  devotion  to  the  material  interests  of  Missouri,  4-t  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  he  received  a  large  vote  in  the 
Democratic  caucus  for  the  nomination  for  United  States  Sena- 
tor, but  the  choice  fell  on  Mr.  James  Green. 

In  the  Presidential  election  of  1860,  in  common  with  Major 
Jackson,  who  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor,  and 
a  number  of  other  leading  men  of  his  party,  Ex-Governor 
Price  supported  Mr.  Douglas  for  the  Presidency,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  the  regular  nominee  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  moreover  considered  Mr.  Douglas  true  to  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  South,  and  believed  him  to  be  the  only  one  of 
the  candidates  who  could  prevent  the  election  of  the  Black 
Republican  candidate.  The  influence  of  these  men  carried 
Missouri  for  Douglas. 

Upon  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Border  States 
were  unwilling  to  rush  into  dissolution  until  every  hope  of  a 
peaceful  settlement  of  the  question  had  vanished.  This  was 
the  position  of  Missouri,  to  whose  Convention  not  a  single  Se- 
cessionist was  elected.  Governor  Price  was  elected  from  his 
district  as  a  Union  man,  without  opposition,  and,  on  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Convention,  was  chosen  its  President.  The  Con- 
vention had  not  been  in  session  many  weeks  before  the  radi- 
calism of  the  Black  Republican  administration,  and  its  hostility 


THE*  FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  179 

to  the  institutions  of  the  South,  became  manifest  to  every  un- 
prejudiced mind.  Thp  perfidy  and  brutality  of  its  officers  in 
Missouri  were  particularly  observable,  and  soon  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  people  to  the  true  objects  of  the  Black  Republican 
party.  The  State  authorities  decided  upon  resistance  to  the 
Federal  government;  the  Governor  issued  I113  proclamation  for 
volunteers;  and  of  the  forces  raised  under  this  call,  -who  were 
denominated  the  Missouri  State  Guard,  Governor  Price  was 
appointed  -major-general,  and  took  the  field. 

The  period  of  history  has  scarcely  yet  arrived  for  a  full  ap- 
preciation of  the  heroic  virtues  of  the  campaign  in  Missouri, 
especially  as  illustrated  in  the  character  of  the  chieftain  whom 
no  personal  jealousies  co'uld  distract  or  unmerited  slights  turn 
from  the  single  course  of  duty  and  devotion  to  his  country.  He 
4iad  gincn  the  government  at  Richmond  a  valuable,  but  dis- 
tasteful lesson  in  the  conduct  of  thewar.  He  did  not  settle 
down  complacently  into  one  kind  of  policy,  refusing  to  advance 
because  he  was  on  the  defensive,  but  he  sought  the  enemy 
wherever  he  could  find  him,  fought  him  when  ready,  and  re- 
treated out  of  his  way  when  not  prepared.  His  policy  was 
both  offensive  and  defensive,  and  he  used  the  one  which  might 
be  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  his  situation.  He  was  some- 
thing better  than  a  pupil  of  West  Point — he  was  a  general  by 
nature,  a  beloved  commander,  a  man  who  illustrated  the  Ro- 
man simplicity  of  character  in  the  nineteenth  century.  His 
troops  not  only  loved  him,  they  were  wildly  and  enthusiastic- 
ally devoted  to  him.  His  figure  in  the  battle-field,  clothed  in 
a  common  brown  linen  coat,  with  his  white  hair  streaming  in 
the  wind,  was  the  signal  for  wild  and  passionate  cheers,  and 
there  was  not  one  of  his  soldiers,  it  was  said,  but  who  was  will- 
ing to  die,  if  he  could  only  fall  within  sight  of  his  commander. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  had  General  Price  been  supported 
after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  he  would  have  wrung  the  State 
of  Missouri  from  the  possession  of  the  enemy.  He  was  forced 
by  untoward  circumstances,  already  referred  to,  to  turn  back 
in  a  career  just  as  it  appro-ached  the  zenith  of  success,  and  he 


180  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

could  have  given  no  higher  proof  of  his  magnanimity  than  that 
he  did  so  without  an  expression  of  bitterness  or  a  word  of  re- 
crimination. He  bore  the  cold  neglect  of  the  government  at 
Richmond  and  the  insulting  proposition  which  President  Davis 
•was  compelled  by  popular  indignation  to  abandon,  to  place 
over  him,  as  major-g# neral  in  his  department,  a  pupil  of  West 
Point  his  inferiour  in  rank,  with  philosophic  patience  and  with- 
out any  subtraction  from  his  zeal  for  his  country.  When  his 
officers  expressed  resentment  for  the  injustice  done  him  by  the 
government,  he  invariably  checked  them  :  stating  that  there 
should  be  no  controversies  of  this  kind  while  the  war  lasted, 
and  that  he  was  confident  that  posterity  would  do  him  justice. 
He  was  more  than  right;  for  a  great  majority  .of  his  living 
countrymen  did  him  justice,  despite  the  detractions  of  jealousy, 
in  Richmond.  • 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  181 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Campaign  in  Western  Virginia. ..General  Wise's  Command. ..Political 
Influences  in  Western  Virginia... The  Affair,  of  Scary -Creek. ..General  Wise's 
Retreat  to  Lewisburg... General  Floyd's  Brigade. ..The  Affair  of  Cross  Lanes... 
Movements  on  the  Gauley...The  Affair  of  Carnifax  Ferry. ..Disagreement 
between  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise. ..The  Tyrees...A  Patriotic  Woman. ..Move- 
ments in  Northwestern  Virginia. ..General  Lee. ..The  Enemy  Entrenched  on 
Cheat  Mountain... General  Rosencranz... Failure  of  General  Lee's  Plan  of  At- 
tack.'..He  Removes  to  the  Kanawha  Region. ..The  Opportunity  of  a  Decisive 
Battle  Lost... Retreat  of  Rosencranz. ..General  II.  R.  Jackson's  Affair  on  the 
Greenbrier. ..The  Approach  of  Winter. ..The  Campaign  in  Western  Virginia 
Abandoned. ..The  Aff.iir  on  the  Alleghany..  General  Floyd  at  Cotton  Hill... 
His  Masterly  Retreat. ..Review  of  the  Campaign  in  Western  Virgiiia...Some 
of  its  Incidents. ..Its  Failure  and  Unfortunate  Results. ..Other  Movements  in 
Virginia... The  Potomac  Line. ..The  Battle  of  Leesburq... Overweening  Con- 
fidence of  the  South. 

We  must  return  here  to  the  narrative  of  the  campaign  in 
Virginia.  The  campaign  in  the  "Western  portion  of  the  State 
was  scarcely  more  than  a  series  of  local  adventures  compared 
*with  other  events  of  the  war.  It  was  a  failure  from  the  be- 
ginning— owing  to  the  improvidence  of  the  government,  the 
want  of  troops,  the  hostile  character  of  the  country  itself, 
and  a  singular  military  policy,  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion 
hereafter  to  refer. 

General  Wise,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  a  brigadier-gene- 
ral without  an  army.  He  rallied  around  him  at  Richmond  a 
number  of  devoted  friends,  %nd  explained  to  them  his  views 
and  purposes.  Cordially  favoring  his  plans,  they  went  into 
the  country,  and  called  upon  the  people  to  rally  to  the  stand- 
ard of  General  Wise,  and  enable  him  to  prevent  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  into  the  Kanawha  Valley. 

About  the  1st  of  June,  General  Wise* left  Richmond  for  the 
Western  portion  of  the  State,  accompanied  by  a  portion  of  his 
staff.      At   Lewisburg,   he  was  joined   by  several  companies 


182  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

raised  and  organized  in  that  region.  From  this  point,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Charleston,  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  where  he  under- 
took, with  his  rare  and  characteristic  enthusiasm,  to  rally  the 
people  to  the  support  of  the  State.  A  number  of  them  joined 
his  command;  but  the  masses  continued  apathetic,  owing  to  a 
number  of  adverse  influences,  prominent  among  which  was  the 
political  position  $f  George  W.  Summers,  the  most  influential 
politician  of  Western  Virginia,  the  leader  of  the  "Union" 
men  in  the  State  Convention,  and  a  prominent  delegate  to  the 
Peace  Conference  at  Washington. 

This  person  threw  the  weight  of  his  great  influence  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  uprising  of  the  people.  He  advised  them  to  a 
strict  neutrality  between  the  public  enemy  and  the  supporters 
of  the  Confederate  government.  Notwithstanding  all  the  ap- 
peals made  to  his  patriotism,  he  maintained  an  attitude  of 
indifference,  and,  by  reason  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  he 
was  generally  held  by  the  confmunity  in  which  he  lived,  as 
a  wise  and  sagacious  man,  he  succeeded  in  neutralizing  the 
greater  portion  of  Kanawha  and  the  adjoining  counties. 

Despite,  however,  the  obstacles  in  his  way,  General  Wise 
succeeded  in  raising  a  brigade  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
infantry,  seven  hundred  cavalry,  and  three  battalions  of  artil- 
lery. Of  this  force,  Western  Virginia  furnished  about  three- 
fifths  and  the  East  about  two-fifths.  On  his  arrival  at  Charles- 
ton, General  Wise  found  C.  Q.  Tompkins  in  command  of  a 
number  of  companies,  chiefly  from  Kanawha  and  the  adjacent 
counties.  These  forces,  combined  with  those  of  the  Wise 
Legion,  amounted  to  about  four  thousand  men. 

General  Wise,  anxious  to  give'  an  assurance  of  support  to 
the  strong  Southern  sentiment  reported  to  exist  in  Gilmer  and 
jCalhoun,  sent  an  expedition  into  those  counties  to  repress  the 
excesses  of  the  Union  men.  In  the  meantime,  the  enemy  had 
landed  considerable  forces  at  Parkefsburg  and  Point  Pleasant 
on  the  Ohio  River,  and  had  military  possession  of  the  neigh- 
boring country.  His  superiour  facilities  for  raising  troops  in 
the  populous  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  his  ample  means 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  183 

of  transportation  by  railroad  through  those  States  and  by  the 
navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  Kanawha  Rivers,  enabled  him,  in 
a  short  space  of  time,  to  concentrate  a  large  force,  with  ade- 
quate supplies  and  munitions  of  war,  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
Kanawha  Valley. 

About  the  middle  of  July,  the  enemy  advanced  up  the  river 
into  the  county  of  Putnam,  and,  on  the  17th,  Captain  Patton, 
(afterwards  Colonel  Patton,)  with  a  small  force,  met  and  re- 
pulsed three  regiments  of  the  enemy  at  Scary  Creek,  in  Put- 
nam county,  taking  prisoners  Cols.  Norton  and  Villiers  of  the 
Ohio  troops  and  Cols.  Woodroof  and  Neff  of  the  Kentucky 
troops.  The  enemy  retired,  and  our  forces  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  field.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the  action, 
General  Wise  sent  down  two  regiments  under  Colonels  Tomp- 
kins and  McCausland  to  reinforce  the"  troops  at  Scary.  Upon 
arriving  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  they  found  that  the 
enemy  had  .fallen  back  to  his  main  forces  under  the  command 
of  General  Cox. 

Being  unprepared  to  hold  the  position,  not  having  the  ade- 
quate supplies  of  men  and  munitions  of  war,  the  Confederates 
fell  back  in  the  direction  of  Charleston.  Ca^t.  Patton  had 
been  dangerously  wounded  in  the  action,  and  could  not  be  re- 
moved from  the  place.  Col.  Norton,  one  of  the  Federal  officers 
captured,  was  also  wounded.  He  and  Capt.  Patton  were  placed 
in  the  same  house,  Col.  Norton  entering  into  an  arrangement 
by  which  Capt.  Patton  was  to  be  released  by  the  enemy  in  ex- 
change for  himself.  Gen.  Cox,  on  his  arrival,  repudiated  the 
understanding.  He,  however,  released  Capt.  Patton  on  parole 
as  soon  as  he  had  partially  recovered  from  his  wound. 

After  the  action  of  Scary,  fhe  enemy's  forces,  which  had 
been  largely  increased,  steadily  advanced  up  the  valley  both 
by  land  and  water.  Gen.  "Wise,  however,  was  ready  to  offer 
battle  to  the  enemy,  and  was  confident  of  his  ability  to  repulse 
'  him.  But  just  about  this  time  the  news  of  the  disaster  to 
Gen.  Garnett's  command  at  Rich  Mountain  reached  the  Ka- 
nawha Valley,  and  put  a  new  aspect  upon  military  operations 


» 

184  THE  FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

in  that  section.  The  consequences  of  this  disaster  exposed  the 
little  army  of  Gen.  Wise  to  imminent  peril.  He  was  in  danger 
of  being  cut  off  in  the  rear  by  several  roads  from  the  North- 
west, striking  the  Kanawha  road  at  various  points  between 
Lewisturg  and  Gauley  Bridge.  Under  these  circumstances, 
Gen.  Wise  determined  to  fall  back  with  his  entire  force  to 
Lewisburg,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles.  This  he  did  in 
good  order'i  destroying  the  bridges  behind  him,  and  reaching 
Lewisburg  about  the  first  of  August. 

Remaining  in  that  vicinity  some  ten  days,  laboriously  en- 
gaged #in  organizing  his  brigade,  and  supplying  it,  as  far  as 
possible,  with  arms  and  the  essential  materials  for  an  active 
campaign,  he  announced  himself  as  again  prepared  to  take  up 
the  line  of  advance. 

About  this  time,  General  Floyd  arrived  at  the  Greenbrier 
White  Sulphur  Springs  with  a  brigade  of  three  regiments  of 
infantry  and  a  battalion  of  cavalry.  He  had  been  ordered,  in 
the  first  instance,  to  proceed  with  his  command  to  Jackson 
River,  with  a  view  to  the  relief  of  the  retreating  forces  of 
Gen.  Garnett ;  but,  on  his  arrival  at  the  Sweet  Springs  from 
Southampton,  Virginia,  Gen.  Floyd's  direction  was  changed 
by  authority  to  the  Kanawha  Valley.  After  consultation 
between  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise  in  Greenbrier  county,  the 
former,  who  was  the  ranking  officer,  resumed  his  march  West- 
ward, the  latter  following  in  a  few  day*. 

Gen.  Floyd  commenced  to  skirmish  with  the  enemy's  pickets 
at  Tyree's,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sewell  Mountain,  driving 
them  back  to  their  command,  five  miles  distant,  with  a  loss  of 
four  killed  and  seven  wounded.  Upon  his  approach,  the  army 
retreated  from  Locust  Lane  to-Hamilton's,  near  Hawk's  Nest, 
Floyd's  command  advancing  and  occupying  the  camp  of  the 
Federals  the  next  night.  The  Wise  Legion  also  came  up  and 
occupied  the  same  ground.  The  two  commands  then  advanced 
to  Dogwood  Gap,  where  the  road  from  Summerville  intersects 
the  turnpike  from  Lewisburg  to  Charleston.  There*  two  pieces 
of  artillery  were  posted  to  keep  open  the  line,  and  prevent  a 


THE    FIRST    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  185 

flanking  movement  from  Cox's  command  vui  Carnifax  Ferry, 
where  there  was  reported  to  be  a  Federal  force  of  several 
thousand.  The  main  command  then  moved  down  to  Pickett's 
Mills,  near  Hamilton's,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  enemy's 
camp.*  At  this  point,  information  was  obtained  that  the  rear 
of  the  Confederates  was  threatened  by  Matthews'  and  Tyler's 
commands,  which  had  occupied  Carnifax  Ferry  (on  the  Gauley 
River)  and  Cross  Lanes,  a  few  miles  distant  therefrom.  Gen. 
Floyd  at  once  ordered  his  brigade  to  strike  tents,  and  at  half- 
past  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  took  up  the  line  of  march, 
with  the  view  of  engagjng  the  forces  of  his  assailants,  whose 
object  was  to  cut  off  his  trains  and  fall  upon  his  rear. 

Gen.  Wise's  command  was  left  at  Pickett's  Mills  to  hold  the 
turnpike,  and  prevent  a  flank  movement  from  Hawk's  Nest, 
where  the  main  body  of  Cox's  forces  were  stationed  on  New 
River,  seven  miles  east  of  Gauley  Bridge. 

Floyd's  brigade  proceeded  by  a  rapid  march,  and  reached 
Carnifax  Ferry  about  noon  of  the  same  day.  On  his  arrival 
there,  he  learned  that  the  enemy  had  drawn  in  his  commands 
at  Cross  Lanes  and  Carnifax  Ferry,  in  anticipation  of  an 
attack  at  Hawk's  Nest.  General  Floyd  proceeded  at  once  to 
raise  the  boats  which  the  enemy  had  sunk  in  the  river  at  the 
ferry,  and  to  construct  other  boats  for  crossing  the  river  imme- 
diately, so  as  to  occupy  the  strong  positions  which  the  enemy 
had  held'  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Gauley.  In  the  short 
space  of  twenty-four  hours,  he  had  constructed  a  small  batteau 
to  carry  some  ten  men,  and  had  raised  a  ferry  boat  capable  of 
carrying  fifty  men  and  transporting  his  wagons,  and  had  sue-  • 
ceeded  in  ferrying  over  all  of  his  infantry  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  lie  then  undertook  to  transport  his  cavalry,  when 
an  accident  occurred  which  caused  the  loss  of  the  ferry-boat 
and  four  men.  The  boat  capsized  and  was  drawn  over  the 
rapids.  By  this  accident,  Gen.  Floyd's  command  was  severed, 
most  of  his  cavalry  and  four  pieces  of  artillery  being  left  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  stream,  while  his 'infantry  and  a  small 
portion  of  his  cavalry  had  reached  the  opposite  shore.     The 


186  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

stream  had  been  so  swollen  by  recent  rains  as  to  render  ferry- 
ing extremely  hazardous.  Gen.  Floyd,  from  the  western  side, 
ordered  the  quartermaster  across  the  river  to  build  boats  on 
'  the  other  side,  and  to  convey  a  message  to  Gen.  Wise  inform- 
ing him  of  the  condition  of  the  command.  * 

In  twenty-four  hours,  a  boat  was  built  and  launched  from 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  the  remainder  of  the  artillery 
and  cavalry  and  such  wagons  as  were  needful  were  passed 
over.  In  the  meantime,  Gen.  Floyd  was  engaged  in  strength- 
ening his  position.  His  scouts  were  thrown  out  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Gauley  Bridge,  by  way  of  the  Summersville  and  Gauley 
turnpike,  and  they  reported  the  advance  of  the  enemy  in  con- 
siderable strength  from  Gauley,  in  the  direction  of  Cross 
*Lanes.  The  next  evening,  the  enemy  had  advanced  to  Cross 
Lanes,  within  two  miles  of  Floyd's  camp.  The  Federal  officers 
had  heard  of  the  casualty  at  the  ferry,  and  their  "  Union " 
friends  in  the  neighbouring  country  had  reported  to  them  that 
but  two  hundred  of  the  infantry  and  cavalry  had  succeeded  in 
crossing  over.  . 

Col.  Tyler,  who  commanded  the  Federals,  was  confident  of 
the  capture  of  the  whole  force  on  the  western  side  of  the  river. 
He  was  sadly  disappointed.  General  Floyd  had  drawn  up  his 
forces  in  line  of  battle  on  the  evening  of  Sunday,  August  25th, 
and  prepared  for  an  attack.  His  pickets  had  closely  scented 
the  enemy's  position.  Keeping  his  men  in  line  of  battle  all 
night,  at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  he  ordered  an  advance 
upon  the  enemy,  whose  strength  was  estimated  at  from  fifteen 
hundred  to  two  thousand.  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed. 
The  several  Virginia  regiments  marched  by  the  respective 
routes  assigned  them,  and  succeeded  in  completely  surprising 
the  Federals.  Col.  Tyler's  line  of  pickets  did  not  extend  more 
than  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  his  camp  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Carnifax  Ferry.  His  men  were  found  preparing  their 
breakfasts  of  green  corn  and  fresh  beef — roasting  their  corn 
by  the  fire  and  broiling  their  beef  on  sharp  sticks.  'They  were 
encamped  in  separate  divisions,  the  rear  being  very  near  the 


V 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  187 

church,  in  the  direction  of  Gauley,  in  which  building  Colonel 
Tyler  had  taken  up  his  quarters.  Their  pickets  were  drawn 
in,  and  the  division  nearest  to  Floyd's  forces  took  position  be- 
hind a  fence,  where,  for  a  time,  they  stubbornly  resisted  the 
attack.  They  were  soon  dislodged,  and  the  whole  command 
pushed  over  the  hills,  where  they  broke  into  the  most  disgrace- 
ful flight,  the  advance  of  which  was  conspicuously  led  by  their 
colonel  and  field  officers.  The  flight  was  one  of  wild  conster- 
nation, many  of  the  enemy  hot  only  throwing  away  their  arms, 
but  divesting  themselves  of  hats  and  coats  to  accelerate  their 
flight,  which  was  continued  on  an  uninterrupted  stretch  for 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

The  commander  of  the  Federals,  Col.  Tyler,  was  an  Ohio 
man,  and  was  familiar  with  the  topography  of  the  country  he 
had  come  to  invade,  having  visited  it  for  years  in  the  character 
of  a  fur-dealer.  On  his  advent  in  the  Kanawha  Valley  as  the 
commander  of  an  invading  regiment,  the  coarse  jest  was  made 
in  some  of  the  Northern  papers  that  he  would  "drive  a  snug 
business  "  in  rebel  shins.  The  joke  was  turned  against  him  by 
the  Virginia  soldiers  at  Cross  Lanes,  when  they  captured-  all 
the  baggage  of  the  Federal  command,  including  the  colonel's 
shirts,  who  had  thfls  narrowly  escaped  with  his  own  skin.  As 
the  flying  enemy  dashed  on,  the  colonel  led  the  retreat  at  a 
considerable  distance  ahead  of  it.  One  of  his  staff,  a  major, 
in  leaping  a  fence  got  his  horse  astride  it,  and  had  to  leave 
him  t^iere,  trusting  to  the  fleetness  of  his  own  heels  for  safety. 

In  the  affair  at  Cross  Lanes,  the  enemy's  loss  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners  was  about  two  hundred.  •  That  on  our 
side  in  killed  and  wounded  did  not  exceed  a  dozen  men. 

General  Floyd  proceeded  to  strengthen  his  position  on  the 
Gauley.  Having  succeeded  in  throwing  his  forces  between 
Cox  and  Rosencranz,  he  set  to  work  to  bring  up  ten  days'  sup- 
plies in  advance,  intending  to  throw  a  portion  of  his  command 
into  the  Kanawha  Valley  below  Cox,  with  a  view  off  cutting  off 
his  retreat.  Having  secured  supplies  sufficient  to  justify  an 
advance  movement,  Gen.   Floyd  was  about  this  time  apprised 


188  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

of  the  approach  of  Rosencranz,  by  way  of  Suttonsvillo,  with 
a  large  force  for  the  relief  of  Cox.  On  the  evening  previoug 
.  to  the  contemplated  advance  of  the  Confederates  against  Cox, 
about  three  o'clock  of  the  10th  of  September,  Rosencranz,  by 
a  rapid  march  of  sixteen  miles,  threw  his  entire  force  of  ten 
regiments  and  several  heavy  batteries  of  artillery  about  Floyd's 
entrenchments,  and  commenced  a  vigorous  attack. 

The  successful  resistance  of  this  attack  of  the  enemy,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Carnifax  Ferry,  was  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able incidents  of  the  campaign  in  Western  Virginia.  The  force 
of  General  Floyd's  command  was  1,740  men,  and  from  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until  night-fall,  it  sustained,  with  un- 
wavering determination  and  the  most  brilliant  success,  an  as- 
sault from  an  enemy  between  eight  and  nine  thousand  strong, 
made  with  small  arms,  grape  and  round  shot,  from  howitzers 
and  rifled  cannon. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  contest  for  the  night,  Gen.  Floyd  de- 
termined at  once  to  cross  the  Gauley  River,  and  take  position 
upon  the  left  bank — Gen.  Wise  having  failed  to  reinforce  him, 
and  it  being  only  a  question  of  time  when  he  would  be  com- 
pelled to  yield  to  the  superiority  of  numbers.  The  retreat 
across  the  river  was  accomplished  by  aid* of  a  hastily  con- 
structed bridge  of  logs,  about  four  feet  wide,  without  the  loss 
of  a  gun,  or  any  accident  whatever.  In  a  continued  firing  upon 
us,  by  cannon  and  small  arms,  for  nearly  four  hours,  only 
twenty  of  our  men  had  been  wounded  and  none  killed.  We 
had  repulsed  the  enemy  in  five  distinct  and  successiye  assaults, 
and  had  held  him  in  complete  check  until  the  river  was  placed 
between  him  and  the  little  army  he  had  come  in  the  insolent 
confidence  of  overwhelming  numbers  to  destroy.  The  loss  of 
the  enemy  had  been  considerable,  Colonel  Lytle,  of  Cincinnati, 
and  a  number  of  other  Federal  officers,  having  fallen  inftheir 
attempts  to  rally  their  men  to  a  successful  charge.  The  whole 
loss  of  the  enemy  cannot  be  stated  here ;  it  was  very  serious, 
by  the  admission  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  and  other  Fed-( 
eral  newspapers;  it,  unquestionably,  must  have  amounted  to 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  189 

several  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded.  Gen.  Floyd  was 
wounded  by -a  musket  shot  in  the  arm.  His  flag,  which  was 
flying  at  headquarters,  and  his  tent  were  riddled  with  balls. 

At  the  time  that  information  had  reached  Gen.  Floyd  of  the 
advance  of  the  enemy  towards  his  position,  he  had  dispatched 
orders  to  Gen.  Wise  for  reinforcements,  which  he  failed  to  pro- 
cure. In  his  official  report  of  the  action,  Gen.  Floyd  wrote  to 
the  War  Department  at  Richmond :  "  I  am  very  confident 
that  I  could  have  beaten  the  enemy  and  marched  directly 
to  the  Valley  of  the  Kanawha,  if  the  reinforcements  from 
Gen.  Wise's  column  had  come  up  when  ordered,  and  the 
regiments*  from  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  could  have 
reached  me  before  the  close  of  the  second  day's  conflict. 
I  cannot  express  the  regret  which  I  feel  at  the  necessity,  over 
which  I  had  no  control,  which  required  that  I  should  recross 
the  river.  I  am  confident  that  if  I  could  have  commanded  the 
services  of  five  thousand  men,  instead  of  eighteen  hundred, 
which  I  had,  I  could  have  opened  the  road  directly  into  the 
Valley  of  the  Kanawha."  Referring  to  the  correspondence 
between  himself  and  Gen.  Wise,  in  which  the  latter  had  de- 
clined to  send  forward  reinforcements,  Gen.  Floyd  indicated  to 
the  government  the  urgent  necessity  of  shaping  the  command 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Kanawha,  so  as  to  insure  in  the  future  that 
unity  of  action,  upon  which  alone  can  rest  any  hope  of  success 
in  military  matters.  • 

While  Gen.  Floyd  was  at'Carnifax  Ferry,  Gen.  Wise  marched 
down  to  Big  Creek,  in  Fayette  county,  where  the  enemy  were 
in  considerable  force,  fortified  his  position  and  offered  them  bat- 
tle. He  hoped  to  obtain  a  position  upon  the  flank  of  the  enemy, 
and  with  that  view,  sent  Col.  Anderson  and  his  regiment  by  an 
obscure  county  road,  but  did  not  succeed  in  his  object.  Mean- 
while, with  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery, 
Gen.  Wise  remained  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  enemy. 
A  sharp  skirmish  took  place,  the  enemy  opening  upon  WTise's 
Jorces  with  artillery,  doing  no  execution,  however.  The  artil- 
lery of  the  Wise  Legion  replied,  throwing  shell,  with  some  ef- 


190  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

feet,  into  the  enemy's  lines.  But  the  attempt  to  bring  on  a 
general  engagement  was  unsuccessful,  the  enemy  .declining  the 
offer  of  battle. 

Gen.  Floyd  retreated  in  good  order  from  Carnifax  Ferry  to 
the  summit  of  Big  Sewell  Mountain,  where  he  -remained  for 
three  days,  when,  in  accordance  with  the  decision  of  a  council 
of  officers  called  by  him,  he  ordered  a  retreat  to  Meadow  Bluff, 
a  position  which,  it  was  said,  guarded  all  the  approaches  to 
Lewisburg  and  the  railroad.  Gen.  Wise,  however,  who  had 
fallen  back  with  Gen.  Floyd  to  Big  Sewell,  declined  to  retreat 
to  Meadow  Bluff,  and  proceeded  to  strengthen  his  position, 
which  he  named  Camp  "  Defiance."  .* 

The  enemy  had  advanced  to  Tyree's — a  well-known  public 
house,  on  the  turnpike  road,  in  Fayette  county.  This  country 
tavern  had  been  kept  for  a  number  of  years  by  an  ancient 
couple,  whose  fidelity  and  services  to  the  South  were  remark- 
able. Of  the  courage  and  adventure  of  Mrs.  Tyree,  many 
well-authenticated  anecdotes  are  told.  Her  husband,  though  a 
very  old  man,  had  gone  into  the  ranks  of  the  Confederate  Army 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  The  enemy,  who  were  well- 
advised  of  the  enthusiastic  attachment  of  Mrs.  Tyree  to  the 
cause  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  soon  made-  her  an  object  of  their 
annoyances.  Their  first  attempt  was  to  take  away  the  only 
horse  the  old  woman  had.  A  Federal  soldier  came  to  her  house, 
caught  her  hors%  without  her  knowledge,  and  was  about  to  ride 
him  off,  when  she  discovered  the  thief  and  demanded  his  business. 
The  soldier  replied  that  he  was  directed  to  take  the  horse  for  the 
purpose  of  "  jayhawking."  The  words  were  scarcely  out  of  his 
mouth,  when  Mrs.  Tyree  knocked  him  down  with  a  billet  of 
wood,  stretching  the  ambitious  "jayhawker"  almost  lifeless 
upon  the  ground.  The  horse,  for  further  security,  was  locked 
up  in  the  old  woman's  smoke-house. 

On  another  occasion,  a  file  of  Federal  soldiers  proceeded  to 
the  premises  of  Mrs.  Tyree,  with  the  intention  of  driving  off 
her  cow.  Discovering  them,  she  asked  what  they  intended  to  do 
with  her  cow.     "We  intend  to  drive  it  to  camp  for  a  beef," 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   QF   THE    WAR.  191 

was  the  reply.  Instantly,  wrenching  a  gun  from  the  hands  of 
one  of  the  soldiers,  Mrs.  Tyree  deliberately  declared  that  she 
would  shoot  the  first  man  who  attempted  to  drive  the  cow  from 
her  premises.  "  The  rest  of  you  may  then  kill  me,"  she  said, 
"  if  you  think  proper."  The  soldiers  were  baffled,  and  Mrs. 
Tyree's  cow  was  saved. 

A  few  nights  afterwards,  a  number  of  soldiers  surrounded 
her  house,  under  the  shelter  of  which  was  herself,  her  daughter 
and  a  few  faithful  servants,  without  any  male  protector  what- 
ever. They  ordered  the  family  to  leave,  as  they  intended  to* 
burn  the  house.  Mrs.  Tyrce  positively  refused  to  leave  the 
house,  very  coolly  locked  all  the  doors,  and  told  them  if  they 
intended  to  burn  the  building,  to  apply  the  torch  without  fur- 
ther ceremony,  as  slfe  and  her  family  were  resolved  to  be  con- 
sumed with  it.  The  villains,  hesitating  at  such  a  work  of  fiend- 
ish assassination,  were  forced  to  leave  without  putting  their 
threat  into  execution.  The  heroic  spirit  of  such  a  woman,  not 
only  protocted  her  household,  but  furnished  mrfny  interesting 
incidents  to  the  campaign  in  her  neighborhood,  which  it  is  not 
now  the  time  to  relate.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  her  home 
was  left  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy. 

Having,  traced  to  a  certain  period  the  operations  in  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Kanawha,  we  must  turn  to  note  the  movements  of 
the  army  in  Northwestern  Virginia. 

After  the  retreat  of  Gen.  (jrarnett  from  Rich  Mountain,  and 
the  death  of  that  officer,  Gen.  Lee  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him,  and,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  to  repair  to  the  scene 
of  operations.  The  most  remarkable  circumstance  of  this  cam- 
paign was,  that  it  was  conducted  by  a  general  who  had  never 
fought  a  battle,  who  had  a  pious  horror  of  guerrillas,  and  whose 
extreme  tenderness  of  blood  induced  him  to  depend  exclusively 
upon  the  resources  of  strategy,  to  essay  the  achievement  of 
victories  without  the  cost  of  life. 

Gen.  Lee  took  with  him  reinforcements,  making  his  whole 
force,  in  conjunction  with  the  remnant  of  Gen.  Garnett's  army 
that  had  fallen  back  from  Rich  Mountain  to  Monterey,  about 


192  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

sixteen  thousand  men.  Early  in  August,  Gen.  Lee  reached 
with  his  command  the  neighborhood  of  Cheat  Mountain,  on 
the  Staunton  and  Parkersburg  turnpike,  and  found  it  strongly 
fortified  by  the  enemy.  The  position  was  known  to  be  an 
exceedingly  strong  one,  and  not  easily  turned.  Nevertheless, 
GTen.  Lee  -was  confident  that  he- would  be  able  by  strategic 
movements  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  his  stronghold,  capture 
his  forces,  and  then  march  his  victorious  army  into  the  heart 
of  Northwestern  Virginia,  releasing  the  people  there  from  the 
•fetters  with  Avhich,  for  two  months,  they  had  been  bound.  The 
prospect  of  such  a  conquest  of  the  enemy  was  eminently  pleas- 
ant. Rosencranz*  .was  the  ranking  officer  in  Northwestern 
Virginia,  but  Gen.  Reynolds  was  in  command  of  the  troops  on 
Cheat  Mountain  and  in  its  vicinity,  his  f5rce  being  estimated 
at  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  men. 

Gen.  Lee  felt  his  way  cautiously  along  the  road  leading 
from  Huntersville  to  Huttonsville,  in  the  county  of  Randolph, 
and  reaching  Valley  Mountain,  he  halted  for  some  time,  ar- 
ranging his  plans  for  attacking  the  enemy,  who  were  about 
eight  miles  below  him  in  Randolph  county,  at  Crouch's,  in 
Tygart's  Valley  River,  five  or  six  thousand  strong.  His  plans 
were  arranged  so  as  to  divide  his  forces  for  the  purpose  of  sur- 
rounding the  enemy.  After  great  labour  and  the  endurance 
of  severe  hardships  on  the  mountain  spurs,  where  the  weather 


*  Gen.  Rosencranz  is  of  German  descent,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  a  graduate 
of  West  Point.  He  bad  devoted  much  study  to  chemistry  and  geology,  and 
resided  some  time  in  Charleston,  Kanawha,  prosecuting  some  researches  into 
the  mineral  riches  of  that  region.  He  was  also  employed  in  some  capacity 
for  a  time  by  some  of  the  c#al  companies  or  some  of  the  coal  oil  manufac- 
turers there.  His  last  enterprise,  previous  to  the  war,  was  the  establishment 
of  an  oil  manufactory  in  Cincinnati.  In  this  he  failed  pecuniarily.  The  war 
was  a  timely  event  to  hyn,  and  his  military  education  gave  him  a  claim  to 
consideration.  In  the  South,  he  was  esteemed  as  one  of  the  best  generals  the 
North  had  in  the  field  ;  be  was  declared  by  military  critics,  who  could  not 
be  suspect'ed  of  partiality,  to  have  clearly  out-generalled  Lee  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, who  made  it  the  entire  object  of  his  campaign  to  "surround"  the  Dutch 
general ;  and  his  popular  manners  and  amiable  deportment  towards  our  pri- 
soners, on  more  than  one  occasion,  procured  him  the  respect  of  his  enemy. 


THE    FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  193 

was  very  cold,  he  succeeded  in  getting  below  the  enemy,  on 
Tygart's  Valley  River,  placing  other  portions  of  his  forces  on 
the  spurs  of  the  mountain  immediately  east  and  west  of  the 
enemy,  and  marching  another  portion  of  his  troops  down  the 
Valley  River  close  to  the  enemy.  The  forces  were  thus  ar- 
ranged in  position  for  making  an  attack  upon  the  enemy  at 
Crouch's,  and  remained  there  for  some  hours.  It  was  doubt- 
less in  the  plan  of  Gen.  Lee  for  his  forces  to  remain  in  position 
until  the  consummation  of  another  part  of  his  plan,  viz  :  that 
some  fifteen  hundred  of  Gen.  H.  R.  Jackson's  forces  stationed 
at  Greenbrier  River  should  march  around  another  position  of 
the  enemy,  at  the  celebrated  Cheat  Mountain  Pass,  on  the 
Staunton  and  Parkersburg  road,  where  he  was  five  or  six  thou- 
sand strong.  Jackson's  forces  did  march  around  this  position, 
under  command  of  Col.  Rust,  of  Arkansas,  through  extraordi- 
nary difficulties  and  perils  and  under  circumstances  of  terrible 
exhaustion.  The  troops  had  to  ascend  the  almost  perpendicu- 
lar mountain  sides,  but  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  posi- 
tion in  front  of  and  to  the  west  of  the  enemy.  The  attack  of 
this  force  upon  the  enemy  on  Cheat  Mountain  was  understood 
to  be,  in  the  plan  of  Gen.  Lee,  a  signal  for  the  attack  by  his 
forces  upon  the  enemy  at  Crouch's.  Col.  Rust,  however,  dis- 
covered the  enemy  on  the  mountain  to  be  safely  protected  by 
block  houses  and  other  defences,  and  concluding  that  the 
attack  could  not  be  made  with  any  hope  of  success,  ordered  a 
retreat.  The  signal  was  not  given  according  to  the  plan  of 
Gen.  Lee,  and  no  attack  was  made  by  his  forces,  which  re- 
treated without  firing  a  gun  back  to  Valley  Mountain. 

It  is  understood  that  Gen.  Lee  did  not  expect  Col.  Rust  Jo 
«nake  an  attack  with  any  certainty  or  even  probability  of  suc- 
cess ;  his  purpose  being  for  Col.  Rust  to  hold  the  enemy  in 
position  at  Cheat  Mountain  Pass,  while  he  was  engaging  them 
at  Crouch's.  The  fact  however  is,  that  Cheat  Mountain  Pass 
was,  by  the  nearest  road  to  Crouch's,  ten  miles  distant ;  and 
there  are  strong  reasons  for  believing  that,  if  Gen.  Lee  had 
made  the  attack  upon  the  enemy  at  the  latter  position,  they 
13 


194  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP  THE  WAR. 

would  have  been  captured  to  a  man,  notwithstanding  the  failure 
to  hold  the  forces  in  check  at  Cheat  Mountain.  Such  was  the 
impression  of  the  Federals  themselves.  If  the  enemy  had  been 
captured  at  Crouch's,  a  march  of  ten  miles  down  the  Valley- 
River  by  Gen.  Lee  would  have  brought  his  forces  in  the  rear 
of  the  enemy  at  Huttonsville,  cutting  off  his  supplies,  and, 
with  Jackson  on  the  other  side,  compelling  him  to  the  neces- 
sity of  surrender. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Gen.  Lee  failed  to  make  the  attack 
at  Crouch's,  and  to  realize  the  rich  results  of  his  well-matured  . 
plan.  Had  he  defeated  the  enemy  at  Crouch's,  he  would  have 
been  within  two  days'  march  of  the  position  from  which  Gen. 
Garnett  had  retreated,  and  could  have  held  Rosencranz  in 
check,  who  was  at  that  time  making  his  way  to  Carnifax  Ferry 
to  oppose  Floyd.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  if  Gen.  Lee 
had  not  allowed  the  immaterial  part  of  his  plan  to  control  his 
action,  a  glorious  success  would  have  resulted,  opening  the 
whole  Northwestern  country  to  us,  and  enabling  Floyd  and 
Wise  to  drive  Cox  with  ease  out  of  the  Kanawha  Valley.  Re- 
grets, however,  were  unavailing  now.  Gen.  Lee's  plan,  finished 
drawings  of  which  were  sent  to  the  War  Department  at  Rich- 
mond, was  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  best  laid  plans  that, 
ever  illustrated  the  consummation  of  the  rules  of  strategy, 
or  ever  went  awry  on  account  of  practical  failures  in  its 
execution. 

Having  failed  in  his  plans  for  dislodging  the  enemy  from 
Cheat  Mountain,  and  thus  relieving  Northwestern  Virginia  of'  • 
his  presence,  Gen.  Lee  determined  to  proceed  to  the  Kanawha 
region,  with  a  view  of  relieving  Gens.  Floyd*  and  Wise,  and 
possibly  driving  the  enemy  to  the  extreme  western  borders  of 
Virginia.  Accordingly,  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  he 
•  ordered  the  principal  portion  of  his  command  to  take  up  a  line 
of  march  in  that  direction. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Gen.  Floyd  had  fallen  back 
with  his  forces  to  Meadow  Bluff,  while  Gen.  Wise  stopped  to 
the  east  of  the  summit  of  Big  Sewell.     In  this  position  Gen. 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  195 

Lee  found  them  on  his  arrival.  He  took  up  his  headquarters 
■with  Gen.  Floyd,  and,  after  examining  his  position,  proceeded 
to  Sewell,  where  Gen.  Wise  still  remained  in  front  of  the 
enemy.  He  decided  to  fortify  Wise's  position.  Gen.  Floyd's 
command,  except  a  garrison  at  Meadow  Bluff,  returned  to  Big 
Sewell.  He  had  been  largely  reinforced  since  he  had  left  the 
Gauley  River.  The  position  on  Big  Sewell  was  made  exceed- 
ingly strong  by  a  breastwork  extending  four  miles. 

The  whole  Confederate  force  here  under  the  command  of 
Gen.  Lee  was  nearly  twenty  thousand.  This  formidable  army 
remained  for  twelve  or  fifteen  days  within  sight  of  the  enemy, 
each  apparently  awaiting  an  attack  from  the  other.  Thus  the 
time  passed,  when,  one  morning,  Gen.  Lee  discovered,  much 
to  his  surprise,  that  the  enemy  he  had  been  so  long  hesitating 
to  attack  no  longer  confronted  him.  Rosencranz  had  disap- 
peared in  the  night,  and  reached  his  old  position  on  the  Gauley, 
thirty-two  miles  distant,  without  annoyance  from  the  Confed- 
erate army.  Thus  the  second  opportunity  of  a  decisive  battle 
in  Western  Virginia  was  blindly  lost,  Gen.  Lee  making  no 
attempt  to  follow  up  the  enemy  who  had.  so  skilfully  eluded 
him ;  the  excuses  alleged  for  his  not  doing  so  being  mud,  swollen 
streams,  and  the  leanness  of  his  artillery  horses. 

In  withdrawing  from  the  Cheat  Mountain  region,  Gen.  Lee 
had  left  a  force  of  some  twenty-five  hundred  men  at  Greenbrier 
River,  and,  while  he  was  playing  at  strategy  in  the  Kanawha 
Valley,  this  little  force  had  achieved  a  signal  victory  over  an 
apparently  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy.  The  force  on 
the  Greenbrier  at  the  fyot  of  Cheat  Mountain  was  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  H.  R.  Jackson,  of  Georgia.  A  small  force  had 
also  been  left  on  the  Alleghany  Mountain,  at  Huntersville  and 
perhaps  other  localities  in  that  region. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  the  enemy,  thinking  that  he  might 
strike  a  successful  blow,  in  the  absence  of  Gen.  Lee  and  the 
larger  portion  of  his  command,  came  down  from  Cheat  Moun- 
tain, five  thousand  strong,  and  attacked  Jackson's  position  on 
the  Greenbjier.     The  attack  was   gallantly  repulsed.     The" 


196  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

most  ungual  and  brilliant  incident  of  the  battle  was  the  con- 
duct of  our  pickets,  wht>  held  the  entire  column  of  the  enemy 
in  check  for  nearly  an  hour,  pouring  into  the  head  of  it  a 
galling  fire,  not  withdrawing  until  six  pieces  of  artillery  had 
opened  briskly  upon  them,  and  full  battalions  of  infantry  were 
outflanking  them  on  the  right,  and  then  retiring  in  such  order, 
and  taking  such  advantage  of  the  ground,  as  to  reach  their 
camp  with  but  a  trifling  loss. 

The  action  was  continued  by  a  severe  artillery  engagement, 
when,  after  four  hours'  interchange  of  fire-,  in  which  we  could 
not  bring  more  than  five  pieces  into  action  to  return  the  fire  of 
the  enemy's  eight,  he  began  to  threaten  seriously  our  front  and 
right,  by  heavy  masses  of  his  infantry.  He  had  been  repulsed 
at  one  point  of  the  so-called  river,  (in  fact,  a  shallow  stream, - 
about  twenty  yards  in  width,),  by  the  3d  Arkansas  regiment. 
As  the  designs  of  his  column  were  fully  developed,  the  12th 
Georgia  regiment  were  ordered  to  take  position  near  the  stream, 
while  a  battery  commanded  by  Capt.  Shumaker  was  directed  to 
open  fire  upon  'the  same  column.  The  encounter  was  of  but 
short  duration.  In  a  short  time,  the  unmistakable  evidences 
of  the  enemy's  rout  became  apparent.  Distinctly  could  their 
officers  be  heard,  with  words  of  mingled  command,  remonstrance 
and  entreaty,  attempting  to  rally  their  battalions  into  «line,  and 
to  bring  them  to  the  charge,  but  they  could  not  be  induced  to 
re-form  their  broken  ranks,  nor  to  emerge  from  the  cover  of 
the  woods,  in  the  direction  of  our  fire.  Rapidly,  and  in  dis- 
order, they  returned  into  the  turnpike,  and  soon  thereafter  the 
entire  force  of  the  enemy — artillery,  infantry  and  cavalry — 
retreated  in  confusion  along  the  road  and  adjacent  fields. 

The  engagement  lasted  from  seven  in  the  morning  to  half- 
past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at'  which  time  the  enemy, 
who  had  come  with  artillery  to  bombard  and  demoralize  the 
small  force  of  Confederates ;  with  infantry  to  storm  their  camp ; 
with  cavalry  to  rout  and  destroy  them,  and  with  four  days' 
cooked  rations  in  his  haversacks,  to  prosecute  a  rapid  march 
either  towards  Staunton  or  towards  Huntersville,  was  in  precipi- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  197 

tate  retreat  back  to  his  Cheat  Mountain  fastnesses.  tHis  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  was  estimated  at  from  two  hundred  and 
fifty  to  three  hundred.  That  of  the  Confederates  was  very 
inconsiderable,  not  exceeding  fifty  in  all. 

The  approaching  rigours  of  a  winter  in  the  mountains,  gave 
warning  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  campaign  in  Western 
Virginia,  in  which,  in  fact,  we  had  no  reason  to  linger  for  any 
fruits  we  had  gained.  The  campaign  was  virtually  abandoned 
by  the  government,  in  recalling  Gen.  Lee  shortly  after  he  had 
allowed  the  opportunity  of  a  decisive  battle  with  Rosencranz  to 
escape  him.  He  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  coast 
defences  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Gen.  Wise  was  or- 
dered to  report  to  Richmond;  Gen.  Loring  was  sent  with  his 
command  to  reinforce  Gen.  T.  F.  Jackson,  ("Stonewall,")  at 
Winchester ;  and  Gen.  H.  R.  Jackson  was  transferred  to  duty 
in  the  South.  Witfi  the  exception  of  Gen.  Floyd's  command, 
which  still  kept  the  field  in  the  region  of  the  Gauley,  and  a 
force  of  twelve  hundred  men  on  the  Alleghany  Mountain,  the 
Confederate  forces  were  withdrawn  from  Western  Virginia, 
after  the  plain  failure  of  the  campaign,  and  in  the  expectation 
that  the  rirrours  of  the  advancing  winter  season  would  induce 
the  enemy  to  retire  from  the  mountains  to  the  Ohio. 

The  last  incident  of  battle  in  the  campaign  was  a  brilliant 
one.  On  the  13th  of  December,  the  whole  of  the  enemy's 
forces,  under  Gen.  Reynolds,  were  brought  out  to  attack  the  ' 
position  commanded  by  Col.  Edward  Johnson,  of  Virginia,  with 
his  little  force  on  the*  Alleghany.  The  eneny  had  been  con- 
ducted to  our  position  by  a  guide,  a  Union  man.  The  Federals, 
on  the  flank,  where  the  principal  attack  was  made,  numbered 
fully  two  thousand.  They  were  gallantly  met  by  our  troops, 
who  did  not  exceed  three  hundred  at  this  time,  being  a  portion , 
of  Hansborough's  battalion,  the  31st  Virginia.  These  were 
reinforced  by  a  few  companies  of  Georgia  troops,  who  ca^me  up 
with  a  shout,  and  joining  the  troops  who  had  been  forced  back 
by  overwhelming  numbers,  pressed  upon  the  enemy  with  a 
desperate  valour  and  drove  him  from'  his  almost  impenetrable 


198  '  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   TIIE  WAR. 

cover  of  fallen  trees,  brush  and  timber.  Many  of  the  officers 
fought  bj  the  side  of  their  men,  and  the  enemy  was  pushed 
down  the  mountain,  but  with  serious  loss  to  the  gallant  little 
command.  In  describing  the  eonduct  of  his  men,  Col.  Johnson 
wrote  to  the  War  Department,  "  I  cannot  speak  in  terms  too 
exaggerated  of  the  unflinching  courage  and  clashing  gallantry 
cf  those  five  hundred  men,  who  contended  from  a  quarter  past 
7,  A.  M.,  until  a  quarter-  to  2,  P.  M.,  against  an  immensely 
superiour  force  of  the  enemy,  and  finally  drove  them  from  their 
position  and  pursued  them  a  mile  or  more  down  the  mountain." 
The  casualties  in  this  small  force  amounted  to  twenty  killed  and 
ninety-six  wounded. 

Gen.  Floyd  was  the  last  of  the  Confederate  generals  to 
leave  the  field  of  active  operations  in  Western  Virginia.  After 
the  retreat  of  Rosencranz  from  Sewell  Mountain,  Gen.  Floyd, 
at  his  own  request,  was  sent  with  his  brigade,  by  way  of  Rich- 
ards' Ferry  and  Raleigh  and  Fayette  Court-house,  to  Cotton 
Hill,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Kanawha.  Here  he  again  con- 
fronted Rosencranz  and  his  whole  force  encamped  at  Hamil- 
ton's, at  Hawk's  Nest,  at  Tompkins'  farm,  and  at  Stodin's,  near 
the  falls.  Cotton  Hill  is  in  Fayette  county,  on  the  Kanawha, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Gauley ;  the  Raleigh  and  Fayette 
turnpike  passes  over  the  hill,  crossing  the  Kanawha  River  at 
the  ferry  below  the  falls,  where  it  intersects  the  Kanawha  turn- 
pike leading  from  Lewisburg  to  Charleston.  From  the  position 
of  Cotton  Hill,  the  several  camps  of  Rosencranz,  referred  to, 
could  be  distinctly  seen,  stretching  to  Mie  distance  of  several 
miles.  Gen.  Floyd  reached  this  point  after  a  fatiguing  march 
of  eleven  days,  and  occupied  the  landings  of  all  the  approaches 
to  his  position,  at  Bougen's  Ferry,  Matthews'  Ferry,  Mont- 
gomery's Ferry  at  the  falls  and  Loop  Creek.  For  three  weeks, 
he  continued  to  challenge  the  enemy  to  battle,  firing  at  him 
across  the  river,  annoying  him  considerably,  cutting  of  his 
communication  with  the  Valley  of  the  Kanawha  and  holding 
in  check  his  steamboats,  which  ran  up  to  Loop. Creek  shoals  at 
high  tides.     For  several  days,  the  communication  of  the  Fede- 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   "WAR.  199 

rals,  between  their  corps  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  Gauley, 
•was  entirely  suspended.  Gen.  Floyd  continued  to  challenge, 
insult  and  defy  the  enemy  with  his  little  six  pounders  at  Cetton 
Hill,  while  Rosencranz,  before  he  would  accept  the  challenge 
made  to  his  already  superiour  numbers,  waited  for  heavy  rein- 
forcements from  the  Ohio. 

At  last,  being  largely  reinforced  by  the  way  of  Charleston, 
Rosencranz  planned  an  attack  upon  Cotton  Hill,  and  moved  by 
several  distinctly  indicated  routes,  namely,  Miller's,  Montgom- 
ery's and  Loop  Creek  Ferries,  all  concentrating  at  Fayetteville, 
nine  miles  from  Cotton  Hill.  He  expected  the  most  brilliant 
results  from  his  overpowering  numbers  and  well-conceived  de- 
signs, and  was  confident  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  Floyd  and 
capturing  his  command.  His  force  was  fifteen  thousand  men  : 
that  of  Floyd  did  not  exceed  four  thousand  effective  men,  his 
ranks  having  been  reduced  by  sickness,  and  the  old  story  of 
promised  reinforcements  never  having  been  realized  to  him.  In 
these  circumstances,  Gen.  Floyd  made  a  retreat,  the  success  of 
which  was  one  of  the  most  admirable  incidents  of  a'campaign, 
which  he,  at  least,  had  already  distinguished  by  equal  mea- 
sures of  vigour,  generalship  and  gallantry.  He  effected  his 
retreat -in  perfect  order,  fighting  the  enemy  for  twenty  miles, 
and  bringing  off  his  force,  including  sick,  with  a  loss  of  not 
more  than  five  or  six  men.  In  this  loss,  however,  was  Col. 
Croghan,  of  Kentucky,  a  gallant  young  officer  and  a  son  of 
the  late  Col.  Croghan,  who  had  obtained  historical  distinction 
in  the  Northwestern  campaign  of  the  War  of  1812.  The 
enemy,  after  pursuing  Gen.  Floyd  for  twenty  miles,  turned 
back  in  the  direction  of  Fayette  Court  House,  leaving  him  to 
retire  at  his  leisure  to  Southwestern  Virginia.  It  was  from 
here  that  Gen.  Floyd  was  transferred  by  the  government  to 
the  now  imposing  theatre  of  war  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. 

A  minuter  history  of  the  campaign  in  Western  Virginia  than 
the  plan  of  our  work  admits,  would  enable  us  to  cite  many  in- 
stances of  individual  gallantry  and  self-sacrifice.     They  would 


200  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

show  the  good  conduct  of  small  parties  of  Confederates  on  many 
occasions.  In  concluding  the  narrative  of  the  general  events 
of  the  war  in  Western  Virginia,  we  may  add  a  very.brief  men- 
tion of  some  of  these  occurrences,  which  were  only  incidents  of 
the  campaign,  which  did  not  affect  its  general  results,  but  which 
showed  instances  of  gallantry  that,  on  a  larger  scale  of  execu- 
tion, might  have  accomplished  very  important  results. 

While  the  enemy  had  possession  of  the  Kanawha  Valley,  Col. 
J.  Lucius  Davis'  cavalry,  of  the  Wise  Legion,  was  sent  to  Big 
Coal  River,  thirty-five  miles  from  Fayette  Court  House.  On 
reaching  Big  Coal,  they  gave  rapid  chase  to  a  marauding  party 
of  Federals  and  overtook  them  at  Tony's  Creek,  where  a  fight' 
took  place  on  the  11th  September,  which  resulted  in  the 
total  rout  of  the  enemy,  with  a  loss  of  about  fifty  killed  and 
wounded,  about  the  same  number  of  prisoners,  and  the  capture 
of  all  his  provisions,  munitions,  &c.  The  Confederates  sus- 
tained no  loss' whatever.  The  action  lasted  three  hours,  the 
remnant  of  the  enemy  having  been  pursued  to  a  point  within 
twelve  miles  of  Charleston.  The-  cavalry,  returned  with  their 
trophies,  after  having  traversed,  in  twenty-four  hours,  a  dis- 
tance of  seventy-five  or  eighty  miles  over  steep  mountain  trails, 
bridle  paths  and  rocky  fords.  Col.  J.  Lucius  Davis,  in  his  re- 
port of  the  affair,  speaks  of  Lieut.  Col.  darkson  as  the  hero 
of  the  expedition. 

On  the  25th  September,  Col.  J.  W.  Davis,  of  Greenbrier, 
at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  militia  of  Wyom- 
ing, Logan  and  Boone  counties,  were  attacked  at  Chapmans- 
ville,  by  an  Ohio  regiment  commanded  by  Col.  Pratt.  The 
militia  fought  well,  and  were  forcing  the  enemy  from  the  field, 
when  their  gallant  leader,  Col.  Davis,  received  a  desperate,  and 
as  was  thought  at  the  time,  a  mortai  wound.  This  unfortunate 
circumstance  reversed  the  fortune  of  the  field.  The  militia 
retreated  and  the  enemy  returned  to  the  field.  Col.  Davis  was 
taken  by  the  Ohio  troops,  and  remained  in  their  hands  till  his 
partial  recovery  from  his  wounds,  when  he  was  paroled.     The 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  201 

troops  under  Col.  Davis  lost  but  two  killed  and  two  wounded, 
while  the  loss  of  the  Ohio  troops  in  killed  and  wounded  exceeded 
fifty,  from  the  best  information  Col.  D.  was  able  to  obtain. 

Col.  Jenkins'  cavalry  rendered  efficient  service,  in  the  Ka- 
nawha Valley,  and  kept  the  enemy  all  the  time  uneasy.  On 
the  9th  November,  they  made  a  gallant  dash  into  the  town  of 
Guyandotte,  on  the  Ohio  River,  and  routed  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  stationed  there,  killing  and  wounding  a  number  of  them, 
and  taking  nearly  one  hundred  prisoners.  Federal  reinforce- 
ments afterwards  came  up  to  the  town,  and,  on  the  pretence 
that  the  Confederates  had  been  invited  to  attack  it  by  resident 
Secessionists,  gratified  a  monstrous  and  cowardly  revenge  by 
firing  the  larger  portion  of  the  town,  although  many  of  the  in- 
habitants had  come  out  to  meet  them  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
waving  white  flags  and  signifying  the  most  unqualified  submis- 
sion. "Women  and  children  were  turned  into  the  street,  many 
of  them  being  forced  to  jump  from  the  windows  of  their  houses 
to  cs'cape  the  flames. 

We  have  already  adverted  to  the  causes  which  contributed  to 
make  the  campaign  in  Western  Virginia  a  failure.  The  cause 
which  furnished  the  most  popular  excuse  for  its  ineffective- 
ness— the  disloyalty  of  the  resident  population — was,  perhaps, 
the  least  adequate  of  them  all.  That  disloyalty  has  been  hugely 
magnified  by  those  interested,  in  finding  excuses  in  it  for  their 
own  inefficiency  and  disappointment  of  public  expectation. 
While  Maryland,  Kentucky  and  other  regions  of  the  South, 
which  not  only  submitted  to  Lincoln,  but  furnished  him  with 
troops,  were  not  merely  excused,  but  were  the  recipients  of 
overflowing  sympathy,  and  accounted  by  a  charitable  stretch 
of  imagination  "sister  States."  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
an  odium,  cruelly  unjust,  was  inflicted  upon  Western  Virginia, 
despite  of  the  fact  that  this  region  was  enthralled  by  Federal 
troops,  and,  indee(|,  had  never  given  such  evidences  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  Lincoln  government  as  had  been  manifested 
both  by  Maryland  and  Kentucky  in  their  State  elections, 
their  contributions  of  troops  and  other  acts  of  deference  to 


202  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

the  authorities  at  Washington.  It  is  a  fact,  that  even  now, 
"  Governor "  Pierpont,  the  creature  of  Lincoln,  cannot  get 
one-third  of  the  votes  in  a  single  county  in  Western  Virginia. 
It  is  a  fact,  that  the  Northern  journals  adnyt  that,  in  a  large 
portion  of  this  country,  it  is  unsafe  for  Federal  troops  to  show 
themselves  unless  in  large  bodies. 

The  unfortunate  results  of  the  campaign  in  Western  Virginia 
abandoned  to  the  enemy  a  country  of  more  capacity  and  gran- 
deur than,  perhaps,  any  other  of  equal  limits  on  this  continent ; 
remarkable  foi>  the  immensity  of  its  forests,  the  extent  of  its 
mineral  resources,  and  the  vastness  of  its  water  power,  and 
possessing  untold  wealth  yet  awaiting  the  coal-digger,  the  salt 
dealer  and  the  manufacturer. 

While  the  events  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  pages  were 
transpiring  in  Western  Virginia,  an  inauspicious  quiet,  for 
months  after  the  battle  of  Manassas,  was  maintained  on  the 
lines  of  the  Potomac.  A  long,  lingering  Indian  summer,  with 
roads  more  hard  and  skies  more  beautiful  than  Virginia  had 
seen  for  many  a  year,  invited  the  enemy  to  advance.  He 
steadily  refused  the  invitation  to  a  general  action  ;  the  ad- 
vance of  our  lines  was  tolerated  to  Munson's  Hill,  within  a 
few  miles  of  Alexandria,  and  opportunities  were  sought  in  vain 
by  the  Confederates,  in  heavy  skirmishing,  to  engage  the  lines 
of  the  two  armies.  The  gorgeous  pageant  on  the  Potomac, 
which,  by  the  close  of  the  year,  had  cost  the  Northern  people 
three  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  did  not  move.  The  "Young 
Napoleon"  was  twitted  as  a  dastard  in  the  Southern  .news- 
papers. They  professed  to  discover  in  his  unwillingness  to 
fight  the  near  achievement  of  their  independence,  when  how- 
ever the  fact  was,  the  inactivity,  of  the  Federal  forces  on  the 
Northern  frontier  of  Virginia  only  implied  that  immense  pre- 
parations were  going  on  in  other  directions,  while  the  Southern 
people  were  complacently  entertained  with  the  parades,  re- 
views and  pompous  idleness  of  an  army,  the  common  soldiery 
of  which  wore  white  gloves  on  particular  occasions  of  holiday 
display.  . 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  203 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LEESBURG. 

The  quiet,  however,  on  the  lines  of  the  Potomac  was  broken 
by  an  episode  in  the  month  of  October,  which,  without  being 
important  in  its  military  results,  added  lustre  to  our  arms. 
The  incident  referred  to  was  the  memorable  action  of  Lees- 
burg,  in  which  a  small  portion  of  the  Potomac  army  drove  an 
enemy  four  times  their  number  from  the  soil  of  Virginia,  kill- 
ing and  taking  prisoners  a  greater  number  than  the  whole 
Confederate  force  engaged. 

Gen.  Stone  having  been  persuaded  that  no  important  force 
of  the  Confederates  remained  along  the  Upper  Potomac,  and 
in  obedience  to  orders  from  headquarters,  commenced  his  pas- 
sage of  the  river  on  Sunday,  the  20th  of  October,  at  Harri- 
son's Island,  a  point  of  transit  about  six  miles  above  Edwards' 
Ferry  and  nearly  an  equal  distance  from  Leesburg.  A  force 
of  five  companies  of  Massachusetts  troops,  commanded  by  Col. 
Devins,  effected  a  crossing  at  the  ferry  named  above,  and,  a 
few  hours  thereafter,  Col.  Baker,  who  took  command  of  all  the 
Federal  forces  on  the  Virginia  side,  having  been  ordered  by 
Stone  to  push  the  Confederates  from  Leesburg  and  hold  the 
place,  crossed  the  river  at  Conrad's  Ferry,  a  little  south  of 
Harrison's  Island. 

The  brigade  of  Gen.  Evans  (one  of  the  heroic  and  con- 
spicuous actors  in  the  bloody  drama  of  Manassas,)  which- had 
occupied  Leesburg.  consisted  of  four  regiments,  viz:  the  8th 
Virginia,  the  loth,  the  17th  and  the  18th  Mississippi.  Hav- 
ing a  position  on  Goose  tJrcek,  they  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  enemy,  the  force  which  he 
had  thrown  across  the  river  being  between  seven  and  eight 
thousand  strong.  The  enemy  had  effected  a  crossing  both  at 
Edwards'  Ferry  and  Ball's  Bluff,  and  preparations  were  made 
to  meet  him  in  both  positions.  Lieut.  Col.  Jenifer,  with  four 
of  the  Mississippi  companies,  confronted  the  immediate  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy  in  the  direction  of  Leesburg;  Col.  Hun- 
ton,  with  his  regiment,  the  8th  Virginia,  was  afterwards  ordered 


204  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

to  his  support,  and,  about  noon,  both"  commands  were  united 
and  became  hotly  engaged  with"  the  enemy  in  their  strong 
position  in  the  woods. 

Watching  carefully  the  action,  Gen.  Evans  saw  the  enemy 
were  constantly  being  reinforced,  and  at  half-past  two  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  ordered  Col.  Burt  to  march  his  regiment,  the  18th 
Mississippi,  and  attack  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  while  Cols. 
Hunton  and  Jenifer  attacked  him  in  front.  On  arriving  at 
his  position,  Col.  Burt  was  received  with  a  tremendous  fire 
from  the  enemy,  concealed  in  a  ravine,  and  was  compelled  to 
divide  his  regiment  to  stop  the  flank  movement  of  the  enemy. 

At  this  time,  about  three  o'clock,  finding  the  enemy  were  in 
large  force,  Gen.  Evans  ordered  Col.  Featherston,  with  his 
regiment,  the  17th  Mississippi,  to  repair,  at  double-quick,  to 
the  support  of  Col.  Burt,  where  he  arrived  in  twenty  minutes, 
and  the  action  became  general  along  the  whole  line  of  the 
Confederates,  and  was  hot  and  brisk  for  more  than  two  hours. 

The  Confederates  engaged  in  the  action  numbered  less  than 
eighteen  hundred  men ;  the  13th  Mississippi,  ,with  six  pieces  of 
artillery,  being  held  in  reserve.  The  troops  engaged  on  our 
side  fought  with  almost  savage  desperation.  The  firing  was 
irregular.  Our  troops  gave  a  yell  and  volley;  then  loaded 
and  fired  at  will  for  a  few  minutes ;  then  gave*  another  yell 
and  volley.  For  two  hou/s,  the  enemy  was  steadily  driven 
near  the  banks  Of  the  Potomac.  The  Federal  commander, 
Col.  Baker,  had  fallen  at  the  head  of  his  column;  and  his  body 
was  with  difficulty  recovered  by  his  command.  As  the  enemy 
continued  to  fall  back,  Gen.  Evans  ordered  his  entire  force  to 
charge  and  drive  him  into  the  river. 

The  rout  of  the  enemy  near  the  bluffs  of  the  river  was  ap- 
palling. The  crossing  of  the  river  had  gone  on  until  seven 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  according  to  the  report  of  Gen. 
Stone,  were  thrown  across  it.  Some  of  these  never  saw  the 
field  of  battle.  They  had  to  climb  the  mud  pf  the  bluff,  drag- 
ging their  dismounted  arms  after  them,  before  they  could  reach 
the  field,  expecting  to  find  there  a  scene  of  victory.     The  diffi- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  205 

cult  ascent  led  them  to  a  horrible  Golgotha.  The  forces  that 
had  been  engaged  in  front  were  already  in  retreat;  behind 
them  rolled  the  river,  deep  and  broad,  which  many  of  them 
were  never  to  re-pass ;  before  them  glared  the  foe. 

The  spectacle  was  that  of  a  whole  army  retreating,  tum- 
bling, rolling,  leaping  down  the  steep  heights — the  enemy  fol- 
lowing them,  killing  and  taking  prisoners.  Col.  Devins,  01 
the  15th  Massachusetts  regiment,  left  his  command,  and  swam 
the  river  on  horseback.  The  one  boat  in  the  channel  between 
the  Virginia  shore  and  the  island  was  speedily  filled  with  the 
fugitives.  A  thousand  men  thronged  the  banks.  Muskets, 
coats  and  every  thing  were  thrown  aside,  and  all  were  des- 
perately trying  to  escape.  Hundreds  plunged  into  the  rapid 
current,  and  the  shrieks  of  the  drowning  added  to  the  horror 
of  sounds  and  sights.  The  Confederates  kept  up  their  fire 
from  the  cliff  above.  All  was  terror,  confusion  and  dismay. 
One  of  the  Federal  officers,  at  the  head  of  some  companies, 
charged  up  the  hill.  A  moment  later,  and  the  same  officer, 
perceiving  the  hopelessness  of  the  situation,  waived  a  white 
handkerchief  and  surrendered  the  main  body  of  his  regiment. 
Other  portions  of  the  column  surrendered,  but  the  Confed- 
erates kept  up  their  fire  upon  those  who  tried  to  cross,  and 
many,  not  drowned  in  the  river,  were  shot  in  the  act  of 
swimming;. 

The  last  act  of  the  tragedy  was  the  most  sickening  and  ap- 
palling of  them  all.  A  flat  boat,  on  returning  to  the  island, 
was  laden  with  the  mangled,  the  weary,  and  the  dying.  The 
quick  and  the  dead  were  huddled  together  in  one  struggling, 
mangled  mass,  and  all  went  down  together  in  that  doleful 
river,  never  again  to  rise. 

The  Northern  newspapers,  with  characteristic  and  persistent 
falsehood,  pretended  that  the  Leesburg  affair  was  nothing — 
a  mere  reconnoissance  in  which  the  Federals  accomplished 
their  object — a  skirmish  in  which  theyseverely  punished  the 
"rebels" — an  affair  of  outposts  in  which  they  lost  a  few  men, 
nothing  like  so  many  as  the  "rebels,"  &c.     But  the  truth  at 


206  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

last  came  out,  stark  and  horrible.     The  defeat  of  Leesburg 
•was  named  in  the  Federal  Congress  as  "most  humiliating," 
"a  great  national  calamity,"  and  as  .another  laurel  added  to    ' 
the  chaplet  of  the  "rebellion." 

The  Federal  soldiers  Avho  had  suffered  most  severely  in  this 
action  were  from  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania. 
They  had  given  an  exhibition  of  cowardice,  quite  equal,  in 
degree  at  least,  to  its  display  at  Manassas.  There  were  no 
instances  among  them  of  desperate  stubbornness,  of  calm 
front,  of  heroic  courage.  There  was  but  one  tint  of  glory  to 
gild  the  bloody  picture,  and  that  was  in  the  circumstance  of 
the  fall  of  their  gallant  commander,  Col.  Baker,  who  had  been 
shot  several  times  through  the  body,  and,  at  last,  through  the 
head,  in  his  desperate  and  conspicuous  effort  to  rally  his  broken 
forces. 

Col.  Baker  was  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon.  He 
had  served  with  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war;  was  since  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Missouri;  emigrated  to  California, 
where  he  long  held  a  leading  position  at  the  bar,  and,  being 
disappointed  in  an  election  to  Congress  from  that  State,  re- 
moved to  Oregon,  where  he  was  returuned  United  States  Sena- 
tor to  Washington.  In  the  opening  of  the  war,  he  raised  what 
was  called  a  "California"  Regiment,  recruited  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  and  at  the  last  session  of  the  Federal  Con- 
gress had  distinguished  himself  by  his  extreme  views  of  the 
subjugation  of  the  South,  and  its  reduction  to  a  "territorial" 
condition.  He  was  a  man  of  many  accomplishments,  of  more 
than  ordinary  gifts  of  eloquence,  and,  outside  of  his  political 
associations,  was  respected  for  his  bravery,  chivalry,  and 
address-.  .    * 

Our  loss  in  the  action  of  Leesburg,  out  of  a  force  of  1,709 
men,  was  153  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy 
was  1,300  killed,  wounded  and  drowned;  710  prisoners  cap- 
tured, among  them  twenty-two  commissioned  officers ;  besides 
1,500  stand  of  arms  and  three  pieces  of  cannon  taken.  This 
brilliant  victory  was  achieved  on  our  side  by  the  musket  alone  , 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.-.'"  207 

over  an  enemy  -who  never  ventured  to  emerge  from  the  cover, 
or  to  expose  himself  to  an  artillery  fire. 

The  battle  of  Leesburg  was  followed  by  no  important  conse- 
quences on  the  Potomac.  It  wa3'  a  brilliant  and  dramatic 
incident;  it  adorned  our  arms;  and  it  .showed  a  valour,  a  de- 
monstration of  which,  on  a  grander  scale  and  in  larger  num- 
bers, might  easily  have  re-enacted  on  a  new  field  the  scenes.of 
Manassas.  But,  like  the  Manassas  victory,  that  of  Leesburg 
bore  no  fruits  but  those  of  a  confidence  on  the  part  of  the 
South,  which  was  pernicious,  because  it  was  overweening  and 
inactive,  and  a  contempt  for  its  enemy,  which  was  injurious 
in  proportion  as  it  exceeded  the  limits  of  truth  and  justice, 
and  reflected  the  self-conceits  of  fortune. 


208  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Position  and  Policy  of  Kentucky  in  the  War. ..Kentucky  Chivalry*.. 
Reminiscences  of  the  "Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  "...Protection  of  the  North- 
west by  Kentucky... How  the  Debt  of  Gratitude  Has  Been  Repaid... A  Glance 
at  the  Hartford  Convention... The  Gubernatorial  Canvass  of  1859  in  Ken- 
tucky...Division  of  Parties. ..Other  Causes  for  the  Disloyalty  of  Kentucky... 
The  "  Pro-Slavery  and  Union",  Resolutions. ..The,  "State  Guard". ..General 
-Buckner. ..The  Pretext  of  "Neutrality"  and  What  It  Meant. ..The  Kentucky 
Refugees. ..A  Reign  of  Termor. ..Judge  Monroe  in  Nashville. ..General  Breck- 
inridge...Occupation  of  Columbus  by  General  Polk. ..The  Neutrality  of  Ken- 
tucky First  Broken  by  the  North. ..General  Buckner  at  Bowling  Green. ..Camp 
"Dick  Robinson  "...The  "Home  Guard". ..The  Occupation  of  Columbus  by 
the  Confederates  Explained. ..Cumberland  Gap. ..General  Zollicoffer's  Procla- 
mation.vThe  Affair  of  Barboursville..."The  Wid-Cat  Stampede  "...The  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  Border. ..The  Affair  of  Piketon... Suffering  of  Our  Troops 
at  Pound  Gap. ..The  "Union  Party"  in  East  Tennessee... Keelan,  the  Hero  of 
Strawberry  Plains. ..The  Situation  on  the  Waters  of  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee... 
The  Battle  of  Belmont... Weakness  of  Our  Forces  in  Kentucky. ..General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston. ..Inadequacy  of  His  Forces  at  Bowling  Green. ..Ne- 
glect and  Indifference  of  the  Confederate  Authorities... A  Crisis  Imminent... 
Admission  of  Kentucky  into  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

If,  a  few  months  back,  any  one  had  predicted  that  in  an 
armed  contest  between  the  North  and  the  South,  the  State  of 
Kentucky  would  be  found  acting  with  the  former,  and  abetting 
and  assisting  a  war  upon  States  united  with  her  by  community 
of  institutions,  of  interests  and  of  blood,  he  would,  most  pro- 
bably, in  any  Southern  company  in  which  such  a  speech  was 
adventured,  have  been  hooted  at  as  a  fool  or  chastised  as  a 
slanderer.  The  name  of  Kentucky  had  been  synonymous  with 
the  highest  types  of  Southern  chivalry;  her  historical  record 
was  adorned  by  the  knightly  deeds,  the  hardy  adventures,  the 
romantic  courage  of  her  sons ;  and  Virginia  had  seen  the  State 
which  she  had  peopled  with  the  flower  of  her  youth  grow  up, 
not  only  to  the  full  measure  of  filial  virtue,  but  with  the  orna- 


THE    FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  209 

merit,  it  was  thought,  of  even  a  prouder  and  bolder  spirit  than 
flowed  in  the  blood  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

War  discovers  truths  in  the  condition  of.  society  which 
would  never  otherwise  have  been  known.  It  often  shows  a 
spirit  of  devotion  where  it  has  been  least  expected ;  it  decides 
the  claims  of  superiour  patriotism  and  superiour  courage  often 
in  favour  of  communities  which  have  laid  less  claim  to  these 
qualities  than  others ;  and  it  not  infrequently  exposes  dis- 
loyalty, rottenness  or  apathy  on  the  part  of  those  who  had 
formerly  superiour  reputation  for  attachment  to  the  cause 
which  they  are  found  to  desert  or  to  assail. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  for  a  moment,  that  while  the  posi- 
tion of  Kentucky,  like  that  of  Maryland,  was  one  of  reproach, 
it  is  to  mar- the  credit  due  to  that  portion  of  the  people  of  each 
who,  in  the  face   of  instant  difficulties,  and   at  the  expense  of 
extraordinary  sacrifices,  repudiated  the  decision  of  their  States 
to    remain  under    the    Federal    government,  and    expatriated 
themselves,  that  they  might  espouse  the  cause  of  liberty  in  the 
South.     The  honour  due  such  men  is  in  fact  increased   by  the 
consideration  that  their  States    remained   in   the  Union,  and 
compelled  them  to  fly  their  homes,  that  they  might  testify  their 
devotion  to  the  South  and  her  cause  of  independence.     Still 
the  justice  of  history  must  be   maintained.     The  demonstra- 
tions of  sympathy  with  the  South  on  the  part  of  the  States 
referred  to — Maryland    and    Kentucky — considered  either  in 
proportion  to  what  was   offered  the   Lincoln  government  by 
these  States,  or  with  respect  to  the  numbers  of  their  popula- 
tion, were  sparing  and  exceptional ;  and  although  these  demon- 
strations on  the  part  of  Kentucky,  from  the  great  and  brilliant 
names  associated  with  them,  were  perhaps  even  more   honour- 
able and  more  useful  than  the  examples   of   Southern   spirit 
offered  by  Maryland,  it  is  unquestionably,  though  painfully  true, 
that  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  Kentucky  were  the  active 
allies  .of  Lincoln,  and  the  unnatural  enemies  of  those  united  to 
them  by  lineage,  blood  and  common  institutions. 

A  brief  review  of^  some  of  the  most  remarkable   circum- 
14 


210  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE  WAR. 

stances  in  the  history  of  Kentucky  is  not  inappropriate  to  the 
subject  of  the  existing  war. 

Kentucky  has  been  denominated  "the  Dark  and  Bloody 
Ground  "  of  the  savage  aborigines.  It  never  was  the  habita- 
tion of  any  nation  or  tribe  of  Indians ;  but  from  the  period  of 
the  earliest  aboriginal  traditions  to  the  appearance  of  the  white 
man  on  its  soil,  Kentucky  was  the  field  of  deadly  conflict  be- 
tween the  Northern  and  Southern  warriors  of  the  forest. 

When,  shortly  after  the  secession  of  the  American  colonies 
from  the  British  Empire,  this  contested  land  was  penetrated  by 
the  bold  adventurous  white  men  of  Carolina  and  Virginia,  who 
constituted  the  third  party  for  dominion,  its  title  of  the  "  Dark 
and  Bloody  Ground "  was  appropriately  continued.  And 
when,  after  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence,  Great 
Britain,  with  a  view  to  the  subjugation  of  the  United  States, 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  Indian  savages,  and  assigned  to 
them  the  conduct  of  the  war  upon  all  our  Western  frontier,  the 
territory  of  Kentucky  became  still  more  emphatically  the 
Dark  and  Bloody  Ground.  Nor  did  the  final  treaty  of  peace 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  bring  peace  to 
Kentucky.  The  government  of  Great  Britain  failed  to  fulfill 
its  obligations  to  surrender  the  Western  posts  from  which  their 
savage  allies  had  been  supplied  with  the  munitions  of  war,  but 
still  held  them,  and  still  supplied  the  Indians  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  inciting  them  to  their  murderous  depredations 
upon  the  Western  border. 

This  hostile  condition  continued  in  Kentucky  until  the  cele- 
brated treaty  of  Jay,  and  the  final  victory  over  the  savage 
enemy  achieved  by  General  Wayne,  and  the  consequent  treaty 
of  peace  which  he  concluded  with  them  in  1795.  By  this 
treaty  of  peace,  the  temple  of  Janus  was  closed  in  Kentucky 
for  the  first  time  in  all  her  history  and  tradition. 

The  battles  in  these  wars  with  the  savage  enemy  were  not 
all  in  Kentucky,  nor  were  they  for  the  defence  of  the  territory 
*of  her  people  only,  but  chiefly  for  the  defence  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Ohio,  who  were  unable  to  protect  themselves  against 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  211 

their  barbarous  foes.  How  this  debt  has  been  paid  by  the  de- 
scendants of  these  Ohio  people,  the  ravages  of  the  existing  war 
sufficiently  demonstrate. 

Peace  was  continued  in  Kentucky  for  about  twenty  years. 
There  were  commotions  and  grand  enterprises  which  we  cannot 
even  mention  here.  But  they  were  all  terminated  by  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  1803.  The  ratification 
of  the  treaty  by  which  this  vast  Southern  and  Western  do- 
minion was  acquired  at  the  price  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars, 
was  opposed  by  the  Northern  politicians,  whose  descendants 
now  seek  to  subjugate  the  people  of  the  South,  at  the  cost  of 
a  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  and  of  a  monstrous,  unnatural 
and  terrible  expenditure  of  blood. 

In  the  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  the  surrender  of 
Hull  having  exposed  the  Michigan  Territory  and  all  the  North-  ' 
ern  border  of  Ohio  to  the  invasion  of  the  British  and  the 
savages,  who  were  now  again  the  allies  of  that  government, 
Kentucky  sent  forth  her  volunteers  for  the  defence  of  her  as- 
sailed Northern  neighbours  ;  and  when  so  many  of  her  gallant 
6ons  were  sacrificed  upon  the  bloody  plains  of  Raisin,  the  Leg- 
islature of  Kentucky  requested  the  Governor  of  the  State  to 
take  the  field,  and  at  the  head  of  his  volunteer  army  to  go 
forth  and  drive  back  the  enemy.  The  request  was  promptly 
complied  with.  It  was  the  army  of  Kentucky  that  expelled 
the  savages  from  all  Ohio  and  Michigan,  and  pursuing  them 
into  Canada,  achieved  over  them  and  (he  British  upon  the 
Thames  a  victory  more  important  .than  had  been  yet  won  upon 
land  in  that  war,  thus  giving  pesce  and  security  to  Ohio,and 
all  the  Northwestern  territory,  whose  people  were  confessedly 
powerless  for  their  own  defence. 

It  is  these  people,  projected  by  the  arms  and  early  chivalry 
of  Kentucky,  who  luve  now  made  her  soil  the  Dark  and 
Bloody  Ground  of  an  iniquitous  civil  war,  waged  not  only  upon 
a  people  bearing  the  common  name  of.  American  citizens,  but 
upon  the  eternal  and  sacred  principles  of  liberty  itself.  In 
Jhese  references  to  the  early  history  of  Kentucky  we  must  be 


212  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

brief.  In  indicating,  however,  the  lessons  of  rebuke  they  give 
to  the  North  with  respect  to  the  existing  war,  we  must  not 
omit  to  mention  that  in  the  war  of  1812,  in  which  Kentucky 
covered  herself  with  such  well-deserved  and  lasting  glory,  the 
New  England  States  stood  with  the  enemy,  and  the  body  of 
their  politicians  had  resolved  upon  negotiation  with  Great 
Britain  for  a  separate  peace,  and  had,  in  fact,  appointed  a 
Convention  to  be  assembled  at  Hartford,  -to  carry  into  effect 
what  would  have  been  virtually  a  secession  from  the  United 
States,  and  the  assumption  of  neutrality  between  the  billige- 
rents,  if  not  an  alliance  with  the  public  enemy.  These  facts 
are  not  fully  recorded  in  history,  but  they  might  be  well  col- 
lected from  the  public  documents  and  journals  of  the  day.  In- 
deed, they  are  well  known  to  men  yet  living  in  our  land.  The 
schemes  of  the  New  England  traitors  were  defeated  only  by  the 
battle  of  Orleans,  and  the  consequent  treaty  of  peace.  Upon  the 
happening  of  these  events,  the  conspirators  abandoned  their 
Convention  projet,  and  denied  that  they  had  ever  contemplated 
anything  revolutionary  or  treasonable.  The  whole  matter  was 
suffered  to  pass  into  oblivion.  The  conspirators  were  treated 
by  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  as  William 
the  Third  treated  those  around  his  throne  who,  within  his 
knowledge,  had  conspired  against  him,  and  had  actually  served 
the  public  enemy  of  England.  It  was  known  in  each  case  thai 
the  conspirators  were  controlled  by  their  selfish  interests,  and 
that  the  best  mode  of  managing  them  was  to  cause  them  to  see 
that  it  was  to  their  interest  to  be  faithful  to  their  government. 
It  n«eeds  no  comment  to  indicate  with  what  grace  the  vehement 
denunciation  of  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States  from  a 
Union  which  had  been  prostituted  alike  to  the  selfishness  of 
politicians  and  the  passion  of  fanatics,  comes  from  a  people 
who  had  been  not  only  domestic  rebels,  but  allies  to  the  foreign 
enemy  in  the  war  of  1812. 

In  tracing  the  political  connections  of  Kentucky  in  the  pre- 
sent war,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  our  purposes  to  start  at  the 
election  of  its  Governor  in  1859.     Down  to  that  period  the 


TIIE    FIRST   YEAR. OF   THE    WAR.  213 

body  of  the  partisans  now  upholding  the  Lincoln  government 
had  been  an  Emancipation  party  in  the  State.  This  party  had 
lately  suffered  much  in  popularity.  In  the  election  of  1859 
they  determined  to  consult  popularity,  and  took  open  pro- 
slavery  ground.  The  State  Rights  candidate  (Magoffin,)  was 
elected.  ' 

By  their  adroit  movement,  however,  the  Anti-State  Rights 
party  had  made  some  advance  in  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
which  availed  them  in  the  more  important  contests  that  fol- 
lowed. In  the  Presidential  election  of  I860,  they  supported 
Mr.  Bell,  and  thus  succeeded  in  their  object  of  gaming  the  as- 
cendancy in  the  councils  of  the  State.  Emancipationists  were 
urged  to  support  Mr.  Bell,  upon  the  ground  that  from  his  ante- 
cedents and  present  position  they  had  more  to  expect  from  him 
than  from  his  principal  competitor  in  the  race  in  Kentucky, 
while  the  people  at  large  were  persuaded  to  support  Mr.  Bell 
as  the  candidate  of  the  friends  of  "  the  Union,  the  Constitution 
and  the  Laws." 

The  Anti-State  Rights  party  (at  least  they  may  be  known 
for  the  presents  by  this  convenient  denomination,)  succeeded  in 
carrying  the  State  by  a  large  plurality.  They  commenced  at 
an  early  day  to  combat  the  movements  of  secession  in  the 
South.  Popular  assemblies  and  conventions  were  called  to 
pledge  themselves  to  the  support  of  the  Union  in  every'con- 
tingency.  The  party,  as  represented  in  these  assemblies, 
united  all  the  friends  of  Mr.  Bell,  and  the  great,  body  of  those 
of  Mr.  Douglas  and  of  Mr.  Guthrie.  By  this  combination  an 
organization  was  effected  which  was  able  to  control  and  direct 
public  opinion  in  the  subsequent  progress  of  events. 

It  is  certainly  defective  logic,  or,  at  best,  an  inadequate  ex- 
planation, whiqh  attributes  the  subserviency  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  people  of  Kentucky  to  the  views  of  the  Lincoln  gov- 
ernment to  the  perfidy  of  a  party  or  the  adroitness  of  its 
management.  However  powerful  may  be  the  machinery  of 
party,  it  certainly  has  not  the  power  of  belying  public  senti- 
ment for  any  considerable  length  of  time.     The  persistent  ad- 


214  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.- 

hesion  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Kentucky  people  to  the 
Northern  cause  must  be  attributed  to  permanent  causes ;  and 
among  them  were,  first,  an  essential  unsoundness  on  the 
slavery  question,  under  the  influences  of  the  peculiar  philoso- 
phy of  Henry  Clay,  who,  like  every  great  man,  left  an  impress 
upon  his  State  which  it  remained  for  future  even  more  than 
cotemporary  generations  to  attest ;  and  second,  the  mercenary 
considerations  of  a  trade  with  both  North  and  South,  to  which 
the  State  of  Kentucky  was  thought  to  be  especially  conve- 
nient. .  These  suggestions  may  at  least  assist  to  the  under- 
standing of  that  development  of  policy  in  Kentucky  which  we 
are  about  to  relate. 

On  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  after  the 
election  of  Lincoln,  the  party  in  the  interest  of  the  North  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  passage  by  that  body  of  a  singular  set 
of  resolutions,  which,  by  a  curious  compost  of  ideas,  were 
called  "pro-slavery  and  Union"  resolutions.  They  denounced 
secession,  without  respect  to  any  cause  which  might  justify  the 
measure,  deprecated  any  war  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
and  avowed  the  determination  of  Kentuchy  to  occupy  in  such 
an  event  a  position  of  perfect  neutrality. 

At  its  regular  session  in  1859-'60,  the  Legislature  had  or- 
ganized an  active  body  of  volunteer  militia,  denominated  the 
State  Guard,  and  General  Buckner  had  been  appointed  its 
highest  officer.  This  army,  as  it  might  be  called,  was  found 
to  consist  of  the  finest  officers  and  best  .young  men  in  the 
State.  It  was  necessarily,  by  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, under  the  command  of  the  Governor ;  but  as  Governor 
Magoffin  was  supposed  to  be  a  Southern  Rights  man,  and  the 
fact  appearing  that  nearly  all  of  the  State  Guard  were  favoura- 
ble to  the  same  cause,  and  that  they  could  not  be  made  the 
soldiers  of  the  despotic  government  of  the  North,  he  was  in 
effect  deprived  of  their  command,  and  measures  were  taken  for 
forcing  out  of  their  hands  the  public  arms  with  which  they  had 
been  furnished,  and  for  the  organization  of  a  new  corp,  to  be 
commanded  by  the  officers  and  partisans  of  Abraham  Lincoln* 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  215 

In  the  meantime,  as  if  to  make  their  professed  determination 
of  neutrality  effective,  the  Legislature  proceeded  to  arm  -with 
muskets  their  "Home  Guards,"  as  their  new  army  was  called. 
With  this  programme  before  the  people,  the  Legislature  took 
a  recess,  probably  to  await  the  progress  of  events,  when  the 
mask  of  neutrality  might  be  thrown  off,  and  their  real  purposes 
might  safely  be  announced  to  the  people. 

Gov.  Magoffin's  refusal  to  furnish  troops  to  answer  the  re- 
quisition of  the  Federal  government  (to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made  in  another  part  of  this' work),  appeared  at 
the.time  to  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  entire  people  of  Ken- 
tucky. The.  enemies  of  the  South  acquiesced  in  the  decision 
of  the  Governor  only  until  the  period  arrived  when  the  farce 
of  neutrality  might  be  conveniently  broken,  and  the  next  step 
ventured,  which  would  be  union  with  the  North.  With  the 
pretence  of  neutrality,  and  the  seductive  promises  of  a  trade 
with  both  belligerents,  which  would  enrich  Kentucky  and  fill 
her  cities  with  gold,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  people  were 
held  blinded  or  willingly  entertained,  while  the  purposes  of 
the  Lincoln  government  with  respect  to  their  State  were  being 
steadily  fulfilled. 

In  the  election  of  members  of  the  Congress  called  by  Lin- 
coln to  meet  in  special  session  on  the  4th  of  July,  1861.  men 
of  Northern  principles  were  elected  from  every  district  in 
Kentucky  save  one ;  and  in  the  same  condition  of  the  public 
mind,  the  members  of  the  Legislature  were  elected  in  August, 
the  result  being  the  return  of  a  large  majority  of  members 
ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  ground  of  neu- 
trality, but  with  what  real  designs  was  soon  discovered.  The 
election  of  the  Lincoln  rulers  having  been  thus  accomplished, 
the  measures  all  the  time  contemplated  and  intended  were 
easily  put  in  course  of  execution.  In  a  short  time  every  State 
Rights  newspaper  was  suspended ;  eve*ry  public  man  standing 
in  defence  of  the  South  was  threatened  with  arrest  and  prose- 
cution ;  and  the  raising  of  a  volunteer  corps  for  the*  defence 
of  the  South  was  totally  suppressed. 


216  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  Lincoln 
government,  a  number  of  young  men  in  Kentucky,  actuated 
by  impulses  of  patriotism,  and  attesting  the  spirit  of  the  an- 
cient chivalry  of  their  State,  had  commenced  raising  volunteer 
companies  in  the  State  for  the  Confederate  service.  They 
passed  South  in.  detachments  of  every  number.  This  emigra- 
tion was  at  first  tolerated  by  the  Unionists,  if  not  actually  de- 
sired by  them,  for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  opposition  in 
the  State  to  their  sinister  designs.  By  the  removal  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  by  the  acts  of  the  Legislature  already  mentioned,  the 
admirable  army  of  the  "State  Guard  of  Kentucky"  was^  to- 
tally disorganized,  and  the  command  of  it  virtually  taken  from 
Governor  Magoffin  and  General  Buckner,  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  political  partisans  of  the  Lincoln  government. 
General  Buckner  could  not  long  occupy  such  a  position,  and 
therefore,  as  soon  as  practicable,  he  resigned  his  office,  re- 
nounced the  Lincoln  government,  and  placed  himself  under  the 
Confederate  flag.  The  value  of  his  accession  to  the  Southern 
cause  was  justly  appreciated,  and  he  was  speedily  appointed  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  provisional  army  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  encouragement  to  emigration  was  not  long  continued  by 
the  party  in  power  in  Kentucky.  It  was  determined  by  the 
Lincoln  government  to  make  examples  of  the  small  party  re- 
maining in  Kentucky  who  sympathized  with  the  South,  and  to 
arrest  at  once  every  public  and  influential  man  in  the  State 
known  to  be  hostile  to  the  North,  or  to  the  despotic  purposes 
of  the  government  at  Washington.  Ex-Governor  Morehead 
was  at  a  dead  hour  of  the  night  arrested  in  his  own  house,  a 
few  miles  from  Louisville,  in  the  presence  of  his  afflicted 
family,  by  the  Lincoln  police,  and  hurried  through  the  city  and 
over  the  river,  and  out  of  his  State  and  district,  in  violation  of 
all  law ;  and  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  prac- 
tically denied  him  in  a-  mode  which,  at  any  period  in  the  last 
two  hundred  years,  would  have  aroused  all  England  into  com- 
motion. The  high-handed  act,  it  might  have  been  supposed, 
would  have  aroused  Kentucky  also  to  a  flame  of  indgnation  at 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  217 

any  other  period  since  it  became  the  habitation  of  white  men. 
The  people,  however,  seemed  to  be  insensible,  and  the  outrage 
was  allowed  to  pass  with  no  public  demonstration  of  its  disap- 
proval. Encouraged  by  its  experience  of  the  popular  subser- 
viency in  Kentucky  to  its  behests,  it  was  in  convenient  time 
determined  by  the  Lincoln  government  to  arrest  or  drive  off 
from  the  State  every  prominent  opponent  of  its  despotic  au- 
thority. It  was  determined  at  Louisville  that  John  C.  Breck- 
cnridge,  late  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Col.  G.  W. 
Johnson,  a  prominent  citizen,  T.  B.  Monroe,  jr.,  Secretary  of 
State,  "William  Preston,  late  Minister  to  Spain,  Thomas  B. 
Monroe,  sr.,  for  about  thivty  years  District  Judge  of  the 
United  States,  Col.  Humphrey  Marshall,  ex-member  of  Con- 
gress, and  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  Mexican  war,  Capt. 
John  Morgan,  (since  "the  Marion"  of  Kentucky,)  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  distinguished  citizens  in  different  parts  of  the 
State,  should  be  arrested  at  the  same  hour,  and  consigned  to 
prison,  or  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  threats  of  such  a 
fate.  It  is  supposed'that  some  of  the  Lincoln  men,  and  per- 
haps some  officers  of  the  government,  preferred  the  latter 
alternative,  especially  in  respect  to  some  of  the  individuals 
na-xed.  However  this  may  be,  it  happened  that  all  of  them 
escaped,  some  in  one  direction,  and  some  in  another. 

The  venerable  Judge  Monroe,  on  his  arrival  at  Bowling 
Green,  whence  he  was  on  his  next  day's  journey  to  pass  out  of 
his  State  and  his  district,  executed  in  duplicate,  and  left  to  be 
transmitted  by  different  modes  of  conveyance,  his  resignation 
of  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  United  States  for  Kentucky;  and 
in  conformity  to  the  general  expectation  at  the  time,  he  placed 
upon  historic  record  the  declaration  of  his  expatriation  of  him- 
self from  the  dominion  of  the  despotic  government  of  Lincoln, 
and  adopted  himself  a  citizen  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
The  proceedings  occurred  in  the  Confederate  Court  of  Nash- 
ville on  the  3d  of  October.  The  scene  of  the  renunciation  of 
allegiance  to  the  government  that  would  have  enslaved  him,  by 
this  venerable  jurist,  who  had  been  driven  from  a  long-cher- 


218  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

ished  home,  and  was  now  on  his  way  to  the  State  of  Virginia, 
whose  honoured  soil  held  the  sacred  ashes  of  a  dozen  genera- 
tions of  his  ancestors,  was  one  of  peculiar  augustness  and  in- 
terest. The  picture  of  the  scene  alone  was  sufficient  to  illus- 
trate and  adorn  the  progress  of  a  great  revolution.  It  was 
that  of  a  venerable  patriot,  a  man  of  one  of  the  greatest  his- 
torical na,mes  on  the  continent,  just  escaped  from  the  minions 
of  the  despot,  who  had  driven  him  from  a  State  in  which  he 
had  lived,  the  light  of  the  law,  irreproachable  as  a  man,  be- 
loved by  his  companions,  honoured  by  his  profession,  and  vene- 
rable in  years,  voluntarily  and  proudly  abjuring  an  allegiance 
which  no  longer  returned  to  him  the  rights  of  a  citizen,  but 
would  have  made  him  an  obsequious  slave ;  and  with  all  the 
dignity  of  one  thus  honoured  and  respected  and  conscious  of 
his  rectitude,  appearing  in  the  presence  of  a  Confederate  court 
of  justice,  and,  with  the  pure  eloquence  of  truth,  oifering  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  new  govern- 
ment, which  had  arisen  as  the  successor  of  the  old  Union,  as 
it  was  in  its  purer  and  brighter  days. 

Mr.  Breckinridge  reached  Nashville  by  a  very  circuitous 
route,  a  few  days  after  his  departure  from  Lexington,  and  after 
a.  brief  sojourn  in  the  former  place,  proceeded  to  Bowling 
Green  and  there  entered  into  a  compact  with  a  number  of  his 
old  constituents  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  camp  of  General 
Buckner,  that  they  would  take  up  their  arms  irt  defence  of  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  their  country,  and  never  lay  them  down 
till  the  invader  was  driven  from  the  soil  of  Kentucky.  Shortly 
afterwards,  he  received  the  appointment  of  brigadier-general 
in  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  a  brigade  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  Kentucky.  Col. 
Humphrey  Marshall  received,  at  the  same  time,  the  appoint- 
ment of  brigadier-general,  and  was  assigned  to  the  district  of 
Southeastern  Kentucky  and  Southwestern  Virginia.  Colonel 
Johnson  was  subsequently  chosen  Provisional  Governor  of 
Kentucky  by  the  friends  of  the  Confederate  government  in 
that  State. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP   THE  WAR.  219 

To  reconcile  the  people  of  Kentucky  to  the  Lincoln  govern- 
ment, its  partisans  had  told  them  at  the  outset  that  they  had 
the  right  to  insist  upon  the  strict  observance  of  neutrality.  As 
events  progressed,  they  ascribed  the  violation  of  Kentucky's 
neutrality  to  the  acts  of  the  Southern  government,  in  the  face 
of  facts  about  -which  there  can  be  np  dispute..  The  facts  are 
that  the  Federal  forces  were  preparing  to  take  possession  of 
Columbus  and  Paducah,  regarding  them  as  important  positions; 
and  because  Gen.  Polk  anticipated  them  and  got  prior  posses- 
sion of  Columbus,  they  charged  the  Confederates  with  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  first  invasion  of  Kentucky.  The  Federals 
had  commissioned  Gen.  Rosseau,  at  Louisville,  to  raise  a  bri- 
gade for  the  invasion  of  the  South,  but  whilst  the  recruits  were 
enlisted  in  Louisville,  the  camp  was  kept  at  Jeffersonville,  on 
the  Indiana  side  of  the  river,  until  the  Lincoln  commander  be- 
came satisfied  that  the  temper  of  the  people  of  Louisville  would 
tolerate  a  parade  of  Northern  soldiers  on  their  streets.  Then, 
and  not  till  then,  were  the  Northern  soldiers  boldly  marched 
across  the  State  in  the  direction  of  Nashville.  Gen.  Buckner 
took  possession  of  the  railroad,  and  stationed  himself  at  Bowl- 
ing Green,  in  Southern  Kentucky,  about  thirty  miles  from  the 
Tennessee  line.  The  partisans  of  Lincoln,  still  determined  to 
blind  the  people  by  all  softs  of  false  representations,  established 
a  camp  called  "Dick  Robinson,"  near  Lexington,  and  there 
made  up  an  army  composed  of  recruits  from  Ohio,  vagabonds 
from  Kentucky,  and  Andrew-Johnson  men  from  Tennessee. 
They  insisted  that  no  invasion  was  contemplated,  that  their 
forces  were  merely  a  "  Home-Guard"  organization'  of  a  purely 
defensive  character.  They  dial  not  hesitate,  however,  to  rob 
the  arsenals  of  the  United  States  of  their  muskets,  bayonets 
and  cannon,  and  place  them  at  the  disposal  of  such  infamous 
leaders  as  George  D.  Prentice,  Tom  Ward  and  Garrett  Davis. 
With  these  arms  "Dick  Robinson's"  camp  was  replenished,  and 
at  this  memorable  spot  of  the  congregation  of  the  most  villainous 
characters,  an  army  was  raised  in  Kentucky  for  the  invasion 
of  the  South. 


220  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE  WAR. 

The  causes  which  led  to  the  occupation  of  Kentucky  by  the 
Confederate  States  'were  plain  and  abundant.  Finding  that 
their  own  territory  was  about  to  be  invaded  through  Kentucky, 
and  that  many  of  the  people  of  that  State,  after  being  deceived 
into  a  mistaken  security,  were  unarmed,  and  in  danger  of  be- 
ing subjugated  .by  the  Federal  forces,  the  Confederate  armies 
were  marched  into  that  State  to  repel  the  enemy  and  prevent 
their  occupation  of  certain  strategic  points  which  would  have 
given  them  great  advantages  in  the  contest — a  step  which  was 
justified,  not  only  by  the  necessities  of  self-defence  on  the  part 
of  the  Confederate  States,  but,  also,  by  a  desire  to  aid  the 
people  of  Kentucky.  It  was  never  intended  by  the  Confederate 
government  to  conquer  or  coerce  the  people  of  that  State  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  declared  by  our  generals  that  they 
would  withdraw  their  troops  if  the  Federal  government  would 
do  likewise.  Proclamation  was  also  made  of  the  dasire  to  re- 
spect the  neutrality  of  Kentucky,  and  the  intention  to  abide 
by  the  wishes  of  her  people,  as  soon  as  they  were  free  to 
express  their  opinions. 

Upon  the  occupation  of  Columbus  by  the  Confederates,  in  the 
early  part  of  September,  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  adopted 
resolutions  calling  upon  them,  through  Governor  Magoffin,  to 
retire.  Gen.  Polk,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Confederates 
at  Columbus,  had  already  published  a  proclamation,  clearly 
explaining  his  position*  He  declared  in  this  proclamation, 
that  the  Federal  government  having  disregarded  the  neutrality 
of  Kentucky,  by  establishing  camps  and  depots  of  armies,  and 
by  organizing  military  companies  within  their  territory,  and 
by  constructing  a  military  work*  on  the  Missouri  shore,  imme- 
diately opposite  and  commanding  Columbus,  evidently  intended 
to  cover  the  landing  of  troops  for  the  seizure  of  that  town,  it 
had  become  a  military  necessity  involving  the  defence  of  the 
territory  of  the  Confederate  States  that  the  Confederate  forces 
should  occupy  Columbus  in  advance. 

The  act  of  Gen.  Polk  found  the  most  abundant  justification 
in  the  history  of  the  concessions  granted  to  the  Federal  govern- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   0*  THE   WAR.  221 

ment  of  Kentucky  ever,  since  the  war  began.  Since  the  elec- 
tion of  Lincoln,  she  had  allowed  the  seizure  in  her  ports  (Pa- 
ducah)  of  property  of  citizens  of  the  Confederate  States.  She 
had,  by  her  members  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
voted  supplies  of  men  an.d  money  to  carry  on  the  war  against 
the  Confederate  States.  She .  had  allowed  the  Federal  go- 
vernment to  cut  timber  from  her  forests  for  the  purpose  of 
building  armed  boats  for  the  invasion  of  the  Southern  States. 
She  was  permitting  to  be  enlisted  in  her  territory  troops,  not 
only  from  her  own  citizens,  but  from  the  citizens  of  other  States, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  armed  and  used  in  offensive  warfare 
against  the  Confederate  States.  At  camp  "Dick  Robinson," 
in  the  county  of  Garrard,  it  was  said  that  there  were  already 
ten  thousand  troops,  in  which  men  from  Tennessee,  Ohio,  In- 
diana and  Illinois  were  mustered  with  Kentuckians  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  and  armed  by  the  government  for 
the  avowed  purpose  of  giving  aid  to  the  disaffected  in  one  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  of  carrying  out  the  designs  of 
that  government  for  their  subjugation.  When  Gen.  Polk  took 
possession  of  Columbus,  he  found  that  the  enemy,  in  formida- 
ble numbers,  were  in  position  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river, 
with  their  cannon  turned  upon  Columbus,  that  many  of  the 
citizens  had  fled  in  terror,  and  that  not  a  word  of  assurance  of 
safety  or  protection  had  been  addressed  to  them. 

In  reply  to  the  demand  made  through  Governor  Magoffin  for 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Confederate  troops  from  Kentucky,  Gen. 
Tolk  offered  to  comply  on  condition  that  the  State  would  agree 
that  the  troops  of  the  Federal  government  be  withdrawn  simul- 
taneously, with  a  guaranty,  (which  he  would  give  reciprocally 
for  the  Confederate  government,)  that  the  Federal  troops 
should  not  be  allowed  to  enter  or  occupy  any  part  of  Kentucky 
in  the  future.  This  proposition  for  a  simultaneous  withdrawal 
of  forces,  was  derided  by  the  partisans  of  Lincoln  in  Kentucky 
and  elsewhere. 

Gen.  Polk  had  taken  possession  of  Columbus  on  the  4th  of 
September.     The  Federals  were  then  occupying  Paducah,  at 


222  THE   FIRST  JTEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

the  mouth. of  the  Tennessee  River.  The  town  of  Cairo,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio,  had  been  previously  occupied  by  a  strong 
Federal  force.  New  Madrid,  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, was  occupied  by  Southern  troops  under  the  command 
of  Gen.  Jeff.  Thompson. 

Early  in  the  summer,  it  was  known  that  the  Federals  were 
threatening  the  invasion  of  East  Tennessee  by  way  of  Cumber- 
land Gap.  To  counteract  their  designs,  the  Confederate  go- 
vernment sent  Brigadier-General  Zollicoffer,  with  a  force  of 
several  thousand  men,  by  way  of  Knoxville,  East  Tennessee,  to 
the  point  threatened.  On  the  14th  September,  Gen.  Zollicoffer 
telegraphed  Governor  Magoffin,  of  Kentucky,  as  follows  :  "  The 
safety  of  Tennessee  requiring,  I  occupy  the  mountain  passes  at 
Cumberland,  and  the  three  long  mountains  in  Kentucky.  For 
weeks,  I  have  known  that  the  Federal  commander  at  Hoskins' 
Cross  Roads  was  threatening  the  invasion  of  East  Tennessee, 
and  ruthlessly  urging  our  people  to  destroy  our  own  road  and 
bridges.  I  postponed  this  precautionary  movement  until  the 
despotic  government  at  Washington,  refusing  to  recognize  the 
neutrality  of  Kentucky,  has  established  formidable  camps  in 
the  centre  and  other  parts  of  the  State  with  the  view,  first  to 
subjugate  your  gallant  State,  and  then  ourselves.  Tennessee 
feels,  and  has  ever  felt,  towards  Kentucky  as  a  twin-sister ;  their 
people  are  as  one  people  in  kindred,  sympathy,  valour  and  pa- 
triotism. We  have  felt,  and  still  feel,  a  religious  respect  for 
Kentucky's  neutrality.  We  will  respect  it  as  long  as  our  safety 
will  permit.  If  the  Federal  force  will  now  withdraw  from  their 
menacing  position,  the  force  under  my  command  shall  immedi- 
ately be  withdrawn." 

At  the  same  time  General  Zollicoffer  issued  an  order  setting 
forth  that  he  came  to  defend  the  soil  of  a  sister  Southern  State 
against  an  invading  foe,  and  that  no  citizen  of  Kentucky  was 
to  be  molested  in  person  or  property,  whatever  his  political 
opinions,  unless  found  in  arms  against  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, or  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy  by  his  counsels. 
On  the  19th  of  September,  a  portion  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer's  com- 


.    THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  223 

mand  advanced  to  Barboursville,  in  Kentucky,  and  dispersed  a 
camp  of  some  fifteen  hundred  Federals,  without  any  serious 
struggle.  He  continued  to  advance  cautiously  in  the  di- 
rection of  Somerset,  driving  the  enemy  before  him.  A  large 
Federal  force,  chiefly  from  Ohio  and  Indiana,  was  sent  forward 
to  meet  him.  This  expedition  was  speedily  brought  to  a  dis- 
graceful and  ruinous  conclusion.  Before  getting  near  enough 
to  Zollicoffer  to  confront  him,  Gen.  Shrocpt,  the  commander  of 
the  Yankee  expedition,  was  induced  to  believe  that  General 
Hardee  was  advancing  from  Bowling  Green  on  his  flank.  What 
was  known  as  the  "  Wild  Cat  Stampede  "  ensued.  The  retreat 
of  the  panic-striken  soldiers,  which  for  miles  was  performed  at 
the  double-quick,  rivalled  the  agile  performances  at  Bull  Run. 
For  many  miles  the  route  of  the  retreat  was  covered  with 
broken  wagons,  knapsacks,  dead  horses  and  men  who  had  sunk 
by  the  wayside  from  exhaustion.  The  flight  of  the  Federals 
was  continued  for  two  days,  although  there  was  no  enemy  near 
them.  Such  was  the  result  of  the  first  expedition  sent  to  cap- 
ture Zollicoffer  and  to  invade  the  South  by  way  of  Cumberland 
Gap. 

Another  design  of  the  Federals  was  to  invade  Southwestern 
Virginia  from  Eastern  Kentucky,  by  way  of  Prestonsburg  and 
Pound  Gap,  with  the  view  of  seizing  upon  the  Salt  Works  and 
Lead  Mines  in  this  portion  of  Virginia,  and  of  cutting  off  rail- 
road communication  between  Richmond  and  Memphis.  To 
thwart  this  design,  there  was  raised  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Prestonsburg  a  force  little  exceeding  a  thousand  men,  who 
were  placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  Williams.  To  capture 
the  "rebels"  at  Prestonsburg,  a  considerable  force  was  sent 
after  them  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Nelson,  of  Kentucky. 
This  somewhat  notorious  officer  reported  to  the  Lincoln  gov- 
ernment that  his  expedition  had  been  brilliantly  successful ;  his 
command,  according  to  his  own  account,  having  fallen  upon  the 
"  rebels  "  at  Piketon,  captured  upwards  of  a  thousand  of  them, 
killed  five  hundred  or  more,  wounded  a  great  number,  and  scat- 
tered the  few  remaining  ones  like  chaff  before  the  wind.     This 


224  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  "WAR.  , 

announcement  caused  intense  joy  in  Cincinnati,  and,  indeed 
throughout  the  North ;  but  the  rejoicings  were  cut  suddenly 
short  by  the  authentic  account  of  the  affair  at  Piketon,  which 
occurred  on  the  8th  of  November,  and  in  which  the  Confede- 
rates lost  ten  killed  and  fifteen  wounded,  while  they  ambushed 
a  considerable  body  of  Nelson's  men  on  the  river  cliff,  near 
that  place,  and  killed  and  wounded  hundreds  of  them.  Owing 
to  the  superiour  force  of  the  Federals,  however,  Col.  Williams's 
little  command  fell  back  to  Pound  Gap. 

He  had  not  more  than  1,010  men,  including  sick,  teamsters, 
and  men  on  extra  duty.  He  described  the  little  army  that  had 
held  in  check  an  apparently  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
as  an  "  unorganized,  half-armed  and  bare-footed  squad."  He 
wrote  to  Richmond :  "  We  wrant  good  rifles,  clothes,  great- 
coats, knapsacks,  haversacks  and  canteens;  indeed,  everything 
almost  except  a  willingness  to  fight.  Many  of  our  men  are 
bare-footed,  and  I  have  seen  the  blood  in  their  tracks  as  they 
marched.," 

There  had  long  been  unpleasant  indications  on  the  Tennessee 
border  of  disloyalty  to  the  South.  In  what  was  called  East- 
ern Tennessee  there  was  reported  to  be  a  strong  "Union" 
party.  This  section  was  inhabited  by  an  ignosant  and  uncouth 
population  squatted  among  the  hills.  The  Union  factien  in 
East  Tennessee  was  the  product  of  the  joint  influences  of  three 
men,  differing  widely  in  tastes,  habits  of  thought  and  political 
opinion,  but  concurring  in  a  blind  and  bigoted  devotion  to  the 
old  Federal  government.  These  men  wrere  Andrew  Johnson, 
William  G.  Brownlow  and  T.  A.  R.  Nelson.  The  first  of 
these  was  a  man  who  recommended  himself  to  the  ignorant 
mountain  people  of  Tennessee  by  the  coarseness  and  vulgarity  of 
his  manners ;  but  beneath  his  boorish  aspect  he  had  a  strong 
native  intellect,' was  an  untiring  political  schemer,  and  for  more 
than  twenty  years  had  exercised  a  commanding  control  over 
the  rude  mountaineers  of  Tennessee,  who  for  an  equal  length 
of  time  had  held  the  balance  of  power  between  the  old  Whig 
and  Democratic  parties  in  that  State,  voting  first  with  one  and 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  225 

then  with  the  other  political  organization.  Brownlow,  "  tho 
parson,"  the  haranguer  of  mobs  in  churches  and  at  the  hust- 
ings, and  who,  by  his  hatred  of  Andrew  Johnson,  had  once 
made  himself  an  ultra  pro-slavery  oracle  of  the  Methodise 
Church,  found  Unionism  so  strong  an  element  of  popular  par- 
tisan strength  in  East  Tennessee,  that  he  was  forced  to  co- 
operate with  liis  old  enemy.  The  sincerest  and  most  respecta- 
ble of  the  trio  was  Nelson,  an  accomplished  orator,  a  poet  and 
dreamer  besides,  having  no  likeness  to  the  people  among  whom 
he  resided  but  in  his  apparel,  and  passing  most  of  his  time  in 
the  secluded  occupations  of  a  scholar,  in  which  vocation  he  was 
both  profound  and  classical.  There  could  be  no  stranger  com- 
bination of  talent  and 'character  than  in  these  three  men,  who 
had  been  brought  together  by. a  single  sympathy  in  opposition 
to  the  cause  of  the  South. 

The  Union  party  in  Tennessee  was  for  a  16ng  time  occult ; 
its  very  existence  was  for  a  considerable  period  a  matter  of 
dispute  among  Southern  politicians;  but  it  only  awaited  the 
operations  of  the  enemy  in  Kentucky  to  assist  and  further  their 
designs  by  a  sudden  insurrection  among  themselves.  Their  de- 
monstrations were,  however,  premature.  Early  in  November 
there  was  a  conspiracy  formed  on  the  part  of  the  Unionists 
for  burning  all  the  bridges  on  the  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia 
and  Georgia  and  Tennessee  railroads.  The  designs  of  the 
conspirators  were  consummated  in  part  by  the  destruction  of 
two  or  three  bridges  in  East  Tennessee,  and  of  one  in  Georgia. 
The  bridge  across  the  Holston,  at  Strawberry  Plains,  on  the 
East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  road,  was  saved  by  the  heroic 
and  self  sacrificing  act  of  an  humble  individual,  named  Edward 
KeelaD,  at  that  time  the  sole  guard  at  the  place.  lie  fought 
the  bridge-burning  party — more  than  a  dozen  in  number — 
with  such  desperation  and  success,  that  they  were  forced  to  re- 
tire without  accomplishing  their  object.  One  of  the  party  was* 
killed,  and  several  badly  wounded.  Kcelan  was  wounded  in  a 
number  of  places.  Upon  the  arrival  of  friends,  a  few  minutes 
after  the  occurrence,  he  exclaimed  to  them,  "  They  have  killed 
15 


226  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

me,  but  I  have  saved  the  bridge."  Luckily  the  wounds  did  not 
prove  mortal,  and  the  hero  of  Strawberry  Plains  still  lives. 

The  Federal  expedition  to  Pound  Gap  was  of  the  same  char- 
acter with  all  the  other  invasions  from  the  Northwestern 
territory  in  this  contest.  The  troops  were  from  Ohio  and 
other  Northwestern  States,  the  occupiers  of  the  lands  bounti- 
fully granted  by  Virginia  to  the  Federal  government,  and  by 
that  government  liberally  distributed  among  the  ancestors  of 
the  people  attempting  the  invasion  of  .Virginia  and  the  South. 
This  territorj7  had  been  won  by  a  Virginia  army,  composed  of 
volunteers  from  this  State  and  from  the  district  of  Kentucky, 
then  a  part  of  the  Old  Dominion.  The  bold  and  successful 
enterprise  of  George  Rogers  Clark  in  the  conquest  of  all  that 
Western  territory,  constitutes  one  of  the  most  romantic  and 
brilliant  chapters  of  the  history  of  the  Revolution. 

We  turn  from  the  operations  on  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia 
border,  which  were  in  effect  abandoned  by  the  enemy  to  the 
more  active  theatre  of  the  war  in  Kentucky,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee.  It  was  to 
these  waters  that  the  enemy  in  fact  transferred  his  plans  of 
invasion  of  the  South  through  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  by 
means  of  amphibious  expeditions,  composed  of  gunboats  and 
land  forces.  Further  on  in  the  course  of  events  we  shall  find 
the  front  of  the  war  on  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  instead  of 
those  of  the  Potomac,  and  we  shall  see  that  a  war  which  the 
Southern  people  supposed  lingered  on  the  Potomac,  was  sud- 
denly transferred,  and  opened  with  brilliant  and  imposing 
scenes  on  the  Western  waters.  But  it  is  not  proper  to  antici- 
pate with  any  comment  the  progress  of  events. 

Gen.  Polk  had  been  completing  his  works  for  the  defence  of 
Columbus.  While  thus  engaged,  he  was  assailed  on  the  7th 
November  by  the  enemy  in  strong  force  from  Cairo. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   BELMONT. 

Before  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  November, 
Gen.  Polk  was  informed  that  the  enemy,  who  were  under  the 


THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  227 

command  of  Gen.  Grant,  had  made  their  appearance  in  the 
river  with  gun-boats  and  transports,  and  were  landing  a  con- 
siderable force  on  the  Missouri  shore,  five  or  six  miles  above 
Belmont,  a  small  village.  Gen.  Pillow,  whose  division  was 
nearest  the  point  immediately  threatened,  was  ordered  to  cross 
the  rive*  and  to  move  immediately  with  four  of  his  regiments 
to  thcrelief  of  Col.  Tappan,  who  was  encamped  at  Belmont. 

Our  little  army  had  barely  got  in  position,  when  the  skir- 
mishers were  driven  in,  and  the  shock  took  place  between  the 
opposing  forces.  The  enemy  were  numerous  enough  to  have 
surrounded  the  little  Confederate  force  with  triple  lines.  Sev- 
eral attempts  were  made  by  the  enemy's  infantry  to  flank  the 
right  and  left  wing  of  the  Confederates;  but  the  attempt  on 
the  right  was  defeated  by  the  deadly  fire  and  firm  attitude  of 
that  wing,  composed  of  the  regiments  of  Colonels  Russell  and 
Tappan,  the  13th  Arkansas  and  the  9th  Tennessee,  commanded 
by  Col.  Russell  as  brigade  commander.  The  attempt  to  turn 
the  left  wing  was  defeated  by  the  destructive  fire  of  Belts- 
hoover's  battery  and  Col.  Wright's  regiment,  aided  by  a  line 
of  felled  timber  extending  obliquely  from  the  left  into  the  bot- 
tom. The  two  wings  of  the  line  stood  firm  and  unbroken  for 
several  hours,  but  the  centre,  being  in  the  open  field,  and 
greatly  exposed,  once  or  twice  faltered. 

About  this  time,  Col.  Beltzhoover  reported  to  Gen.  Pillow 
that  his  ammunition  was  exhausted:  Col.  Bell  had  previously 
reported  his  regiment  out  of  ammunition,  and  Col.  Wright  that 
one  battalion  of  his  regiment  had  exhausted  its  ammunition. 
The  enemy's  force  being  unchecked,  and  now  emerging  into 
the  edge  of  the  field,  Gen.  Pillow  ordered  the  line  to  use  the 
bayonet.  The  charge  was  made  by  the  whole  line,  and  the 
enemy  driven  back  into  the  woods.  But  his  line  was  not 
broken,  and  he  kept  up  a  deadly  fire,  and  being  supported  by 
his  large  reserve,  the  Confederate  line  was  forced  back  to  its 
original  position,  while  that  of  the  enemy  advanced.  The 
charge  was  repeated  the  second  and  third  time,  forcing  the 
enemy's  line  heavily  against  his  reserve,  but  with  like  result. 


228  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

Finding  it  impossible  longer  to  maintain  his  position  without 
reinforcements  and  ammunition,  Gen.  Pillow  ordered  the  whole 
line  to  fall  back  to  the  river  bank.  In  this  movement  his  line 
was  more  or  less  broken  and  his  corps  mingled  together,  so 
that  when  they  reached  the  river  bank  they  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mass  of  men  rather  than  an  organized  corpa 

The  fiel$  was  to  all  appearances  lost.  Reinforcements,  how- 
ever, had  been  sent  for,  and  at  the  critical  time  when  our 
forces  were  being  driven  to  tlie  river,  a  regiment,  the  2d  Ten- 
nessee, commanded  by  Col.  Walker,  which  had  crossed  the 
river,  came  to  their  support.  The  opportunity  was  seized  by 
Gen.  .Pillow  to  engage  afresh,  with  this  timely  addition  to  his 
force,  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  while  he  made  a  rapid  move- 
ment up  the  river  bank,  with  the  design  of  crossing  through 
the  fallen  timber,  turning  the  enemy's  position  and  attacking 
him  in  the  rear. 

As  Gen.  Pillow  advanced  the  main  body  of  his  original 
force  in  broken  order  up  the  river,  to  a  point  wher.e  he  could 
cross  through  the  fallen  timber  to  make  the  flank  movement, 
he  was  joined  by  two  other  regiments  ordered  by  Gen.  Polk  to 
his  support.  These  fresh  troops  were  placed  under  command 
of  Col.  Marks,  of  the  11th  Louisiana.  He  was  directed  to 
lead  the  advance  in  double-quick  time  through  the  woods,  and 
to  the  enemy's  rear,  and  to  attack  him  with  vigour.  Col.  Rus- 
sell, with  his  brigade,  was  ordered  to  support  the  movement. 

It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  Gen.  Polk  lessened  the 
force  assigned  to  the  immediate  defence  of  Columbus,  as  an  at- 
tack in  his  rear  was  every  moment  apprehended.  It  was  ob- 
vious, however,  from  the  yielding  of  our  columns  to  the  heavy 
pressure  of  the  masses  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  and  the  fierce 
assaults  of  their  heavy  battery,  that  further  reinforcements 
were  necessary  to  save  the  field.  Gem  Cheatham  was  ordered 
to  move  across  the  river  in  advance  of  his  brigade,  to  rally  and 
take  command  of  the  portions  of  the  regiments  within  sight  on 
the  shore,  and  to  support  the  flank  movement  ordered  through 
Col.  Marks. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  229 

About  this  time  the  enemy  had  fired  our  tents,  and  advanc- 
ing his  battery  near  the  river  bank,  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the 
steamers  which  were  transporting  our  troops,  in  some  instances 
driving  shot  through  two  of  them  at  the  same  time.  Captain 
Smith's  Mississippi  Battery  was  ordered  to  move  to  the  river 
bank,  opposite  the  field  of  conflict,  and  open  upon  the 
enemy's  position.  The  joint  fire  of  this  battery  and  the  heavy 
guns  of  the  fort  were  for  a  few  moments  terrific.  The  enemy's 
battery  was  silenced,  and  it  could  be  seen  that  they  were  taking 
up  their  line  of  march  for  their  boats. 

The  Federals,  however,  had  scarcely  put  themselves  in  mo- 
tion, when  they  encountered  Col.  Marks  first,  and  afterwards 
Gen.  Cheatham,  on  their  flank.  The  conjuncture  was  decisive. 
The  enemy  finding  himself  between  two  fires,  that  of  Smith's 
artillery  in  front,  and  of  Col.  Marks'  and  Russell's  column  in 
the  roar,  after  a  feeble  resistance,  broke  and  fled  in  disorder. 

Satisfied  that  the  attack  on  Columbus  for  some  reason  had 
failed,  (.Jen.  Polk  had  crossed  the  river,  and  ordered  the  victo- 
rious commands  to  press  the  enemy  to  their  boats.  The  order 
was  obeyed  with  alacrity.  The  pursuit,  was  continued  until 
our  troops  reached  the  point  where -the  enemy  had  made  his 
surgical  headquarters,  and  depository  of  stores  of  ammunition, 
baggage,  &c.  Here  our  troops  found  a  yard  full  of  knapsacks, 
arms,  ammunition,  blankets,  over-coats,  mess-chests,  horses, 
wagons,  and  dead  and  wounded  men,  with  surgeons  engaged  in 
the  duties  of  their  profession.  The  enemy's  route  of  retreat 
was  strewn  likewise  with  many  of  these  articles,  and  abun- 
dantly with  blood,  dead  and  wounded  men.  "The  sight  along 
the  line  of  the  retreat,"  says  an  observer  on  the  field,  "was 
awful.  The  dead  and  wounded  were  at  every  tree.  Some 
crawled  info  the  creeks  to  get  water,  and  died  there." 

On  coming  in  sight  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats  and  transports, 
our  troops,  as  they  arrived,  were  ordered  to  move  as  rapidly  as 
possible  through  the  cornfields  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  The 
bank  was  thus  lined  for  a  considerable  distance  by  our  troops, 
who  were  ordered,  as  the  boats  passed  up  the  river,  to  give  the 


230  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

enemy  their  fire.  The  fire  was  hot  and  destructive.  On  the 
boats  all  was  dismay.  Under  the  fire  from  the  bank,  the  Fede- 
rals rushed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  boat,  and  had  to  be 
forced  back  by  the  bayonet  to  prevent  capsizing.  Many  of 
the  soldiers  were  driven  overboard  by  the  rush  of  those  behind 
them.  They  did  not  take  time  to  unloose  the  cables,  but  cut  all 
loose,  and  were  compelled  to  run  through  the  fire  of  sharp- 
shooters lining  the  bank  for  more  than  a  mile. 

The  day  which  at  one  time  had  been  so  inauspicious  to  our 
arms,  closed  upon  a  signal  triumph.  In  his  official  report  of 
the  battle,  Gen.  Pillow  declared,  that  no  further  evidences  were 
needed  to  assure  the  fact,  that  "the  small  Spartan  army" 
which  withstood  the  constant  fire  of  three  times  their  number 
for  nearly  four  hours,  (a  large  portion  of  them  being  without 
ammunition,)  had  acted  with  extraordinary  gallantry,  than  the 
length  and  character  of  the  conflict,  the  great  inequality  of 
numbers,  and  the  complete  results  that  crowned  the  day. 

That  our  loss  should  be  severe  in  such  a  conflict  might  be 
expected.  The  list  of  our  killed,  wounded  and  missing  num- 
bered 632.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  stated  in  the  official 
reports  of  our  generals  to  have  been  more  than  treble  ours. 
Of  this  we  had  the  most  abundant  evidence  in  the  incidents  of 
the  field,  in  his  flight,  and  his  helpless  condition,  when  assailed 
in  his  crowded  transports  with  the  fire  of  thousands  of  deadly 
rifles. 

The  victory  of  Belmont  was  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  triumphs  of  the  war.*     In  his  congratulatory  order, 


*  The  government  at  Washington,  with  a  characteristic  falsehood,  stubborn 
to  everj-  other  consideration  but  that  of  sustaining  the  spirits  of  its  people, 
claimed  the  affair  at  Belmont  as  a  victory  to  Northern  arms.  It  is  curious, 
and  to  some  degree  amusing,  to  notice  the  manner  of  this  misrepresent,! tien, 
and  the  gloze  and  insinuation  by  which  it  was  effected  in  the  Northern  official 
Teports  of  the  battle.  Gen.  Grant,  in  his  official  report,  declared  that  he  had 
driven  the  Confederates  to  the  river,  burnt  their  camps,  &c.  So  far,  his  re- 
port was  ostentatieusly  fine,  but  not  untrue.  It  has  been  shown,  however, 
that  the  SGale  o£  battle  was  completely  turned  by  a  flank  movement  of  our 
forces  in  heavy  numbers,  which  routed  the  enemy,  and  converted  his  earl/ 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  231 

Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
command  in  the  Western  Department,  and  had  established  his 
headquarters  at  Bowling  Green,  declared:  "This  was  no  ordi- 
nary shock  of  arms;  it  was  a  long  and  trying  contest,  in  which 
our  troops  fought  by  detachments,  and  always*ngainst  superiour 
numbers.  The  7th  of  November  will  fill  a  bright  page  in  our 
military  annals,  and  be  remembered  with  gratitude  by  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  South." 

Despite  the  victory  of  Belmont,  our  situation  in  Kentucky 
was  one  of  extreme  weakness  and  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  tho 
enemy,  if  he  had  not  been  imposed  upon  by  false  representa- 
tions of  the  number  of  our  forces  at  Bowling  Green.  When 
Gen.  Johnston  was  about  to  assume  command  of  the  Western 
Department,  the  government  charged  him  with  the  duty  of  de-^ 
ciding  the  question  of  occupying  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky, 
which  involved  not  only  military,  but  political  considerations. 
At  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Nashville,  the  action  of  the  Legis-* 
lature  of  Kentucky  had  put  an  end  to  the  latter  consideration 
by  sanctioning  the  formation  of  companies  menacing  Tennessee, 
by  assuming  the  cause  of  the  government  at  Washington,  and  by 
•abandoning  the  neutrality  it  professed ;  and,  in  consequence  of 
their  action,  the  occupation  of  Bowling  Green  became  necessary 
as  an  act  of  self-defence,  at  least  in  the  first  step. 

About  the  middle  of  September,  Gen.  Buckncr  advanced 
with  a  small  force  of  about  four  thousand  men,  which  was  in* 
creased  by  the  15th  of  October  to  twelve  thousand,  and  though 

successes  of  the  morning  into  an  ignominious  defeat.  In  the  Northern  official 
reports  of  the  battle,  this  portion  of  the  day  was  dismissed  with  refresh- 
ing brevity  and  nonchalance.  After  describing  in  the  most  glowing  terms  his 
victory  in  pressing  the  Confederates  to  the  river,  Gen.  Grant  wrote  to  his 
friends,  who  communicated  the  letter  to  the  newspapers,  "on  our  return 
stragglers  that  had  been  left  in  our  rear  fired  into  us,  and  m«re  rc-crosscd  the 
river."  In  his  official  report,  the  flank  movement  of  the  Confederates,  that 
was  the  event  of  the  day  and  had  decided  it,  was  alluded  to  in  a  single  sen- 
tence of  casual  mention,  "The  rebels  re-crossed  the  river,  and  followed  im 
our  rear  to  our  place  of  debarkation."  Instances  of  this  style  and  effrontery 
of  falsehood  abounded  in  all  the  Northern  official  reports  of  the  events  of  th« 
war;  the  above  is  furnished  only  as  a  characteristic  specimen. 


232         '  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OP  THE  WAR. 

other  accessions  of  force  were  received,  it  continued  at  about  the 
same  strength  until  the  end  of  November,  measles  and  other 
diseases  keeping  down  the  effective  force.  The  enemy's  force 
then  was  reported  to  the  War  Department  at  fifty  thousand, 
and  an  advance  was  impossible. 

Our  own  people  were  as  much  imposed  upon  as  were  the 
enemy,  with  respect  to  the  real  strength  of  Gen.  Johnston's 
forces,  and  while  th.ey  were  conjecturing  the  brilliant  results  of 
an  advance  movement,  the  fact  was*  that  inevitable  disasters 
might  have  been  known  by  the  government  to  have  been  in 
store  for  the  Southern  cause  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and 
to  be  awaiting  only  the  development  of  a  crisis.  The  utter 
inadequacy  of  Gen.  Johnston's  forces  was  known  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  authorities  at  Richmond  appeared  to  hope  for  re- 
sults without  the  legitimate  means  for  acquiring  them ;  to  look 
for  relief  from  vague  and  undefined  sources;  and  to  await,  with 
.dull  expectation,  what  was  next  to  happen.  While  the  govern- 
ment remained  in  this  blank  disposition,  events  marched  onward. 
It  is  easily  seen,  as  far  as  our  narrative  has  gone,  that  our  troops 
had  shown  a  valour  that  was  invincible  against  largely  supe- 
riour  numbers  of  the  enemy;  that  had  given  striking  illustra-, 
tions  of  endurance- in  circumstances  of  the  greatest  adversity 
and  suffering;  and  that  promised  with  absolute  certainty,  as 
far  as  its  agency  could  go,  the  achievement  of  our  independ- 
ence. It  is  hereafter  to  be  seen  that  this  valour  and  de- 
votion, great  as  they  were,  could  yet  not  withstand  an  enemy 
superiour  in  force,  when  his  numbers  were  multiplied  indefi- 
nitely against  them ;  that  they  could  not  resis|  armaments  to 
which,  for  want  of  defences,  they  could  only  offer  up  useless  sacri- 
fices of  life;  and  that  some  other  agency  than  the  natural  spirit 
and  hardihood  of  men  was  necessary  in  the  conduct  of  a  Avar, 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  against  a  nation  which  had  given 
such  unquestionable  proofs,  as  the  North  had,  of  quick  and 
abundant  resource,  mental  activity  and  unflagging  Rope. 

It  remains  but  to  add  here,  mention  of  the  political  connec- 
tion which  was  scarcely  more  than  nominally  effected  between 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  233 

Kentucky  and  the  Confederate  States.  On  the  18th  Novem- 
ber, the  opponents  of  the  Lincoln  rule  in  Kentucky  assembled 
in  Convention,  at  Russellville,  in  the  Southern  part  of  the 
State,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  provisional  government 
for  Kentucky,  and  for  taking  steps  for  her  admission  into  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  On  the  20th  November,  the  Conven- 
tion unanimously  agreed  upon  a  report,  presenting  in  a  strong 
light  the  falseness  of  the  State  and  Federal  Legislatures,  and 
concluded  with  the  declaration  that  "  the  people  arc  hereby 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  said  government,  and  that  they 
have  the  right  to  establish  any  government  which  to  them  may 
seem  best  adapted  to  the  preservation  of  their  lives  and  liberty." 
George  W.  Johnson,  of  Scott  county,  was  chosen  governor. 
Commissioners  were  appointed  to  negotiate  with  the  Confede- 
rate government  for  the  earliest  admission  of  Kentucky  into 
the  government  of  the  Confederate  States.  The  embassy  of 
the  commissioners  to  Richmond  was  successful,  and  before  the 
middle  of  December,  Kentucky  was  duly  recognized  as  one  of 
the  States  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


234  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OP   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  V.III. 

Prospects  if  European  Interference. ..The  Selfish  Calculations  of  England... 
Effects  of  the  Blockade  on  the  South...  Arrest  by  Capt.  Wilkes  of  the  South- 
ern Commissioners..  The  Indignation  of  England. ..Surrender  of  the  Commis- 
sioners by  the  Lincoln  g(fc-ernment...Mr.  Seward's  Letter... Review  of  Affairs 
at  the  Close  of  the  Year  1861. ..Apathy  and  Improvidence  of  the  Southern 
Government. ..Superiority  of  the  North  on  the  Water. ..The  Hatterns  Expe- 
dition...The  Port  Royal  Expedition. ..The  Southern  Privateers. ..Their  Fail- 
ure...Errours  of  Southern  Statesmanship..."  King  Cotton". ..Episodes  of  the 
War... The  Affair  of  Santa  Rosa  Island. ..The  Affair  of  Dranesville... Political 
Measures  of  the  South...  A  Weak  and  Halting  Policy. ..The  Spirit  of  the  War 
in  the  North. ..Administration  of  the  Civil  Polity  of  the  Southern  Army. ..The 
Quartermaster's  Department. ..The  Hygiene  of  the  Camps  ..Rava'ges  of  the 
Southern  Army  by  Disease. ..The  Devotion  of  the  Women  of  the  South. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  South  had  enter- 
tained prospects  of  foreign  interference,  at  least  so  far  as  to 
involve  the  recognition  of  her  government  by  England  and 
France,  and  the  raising  of  the  blockade.  Such  prospects, 
continued  from  month  to  month,  had  an  unhappy  effect  in 
weakening  the  popular  sentiment  of  self-reliance,  in  turning 
the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  result  of  external  events, 
and  in  amusing  their  attention  with  misty  illusions. 

These  prospects  were  vain.  By  the  close  of  the  year,  the 
South  had  learned  the  lesson,  that  the  most  certain  means  of 
obtaining  injury,  scorn  and  calumny  from  foreign  people,  was 
to  attempt  their  conciliation  or  to  seek  their  applause,  and  that 
not  until  she  had  proved  herself  independent  of  the  opinions 
of  Europe,  and  reached  a  condition  above  and  beyond  the  help 
of  England  and  France,  was  she  likely  to  obtain  their  amity 
and  justice. 

It  had  been  supposed  in  the  South,  that  the  interest  of  Eu- 
rope in  the  staples  of  cotton  and  tobacco  would  effect  a  raising 


„  THE  FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  235 

of  the  blockade,  at  least  by  the  fall  of  the  year.  The  statis- 
tics on  these  subjects  were  though!  to  be  conclusive.  France 
derived  an  annual  revenue  of  $38,000,000 -from  her  mono- 
poly of  the  tobacco  trade  ;  and  Great  Britain  and  her  people, 
a  revenue  of  $350,000,000  per  annum  from  American  cotton. 
Five  millions  of  souls,  in  England,  were  interested  in  one  way 
or  the  other  in  the  cotton  manufacture  ;  and  the  South  calcu- 
lated, with  reason,  that  the  blockade  would  be  raised  by  foreign 
intervention,  rather  than  that  one-sixth  of  the  population  of 
the  British  Isles  would  be  permitted  to  be  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment by  a  decree  or  fulmination  of  the  Yankee  government 
at  Washington. 

Among  the  statesmen  of  Great  Britain,  however,  a  different 
calculation  prevailed,  and  that  was,  as  long  as  the  possible  con- 
tingencies of  the  future  held  out  the  least  hope  of  avoiding  the 
alternative  of  war  with  the  Washington  government,  to  strain 
a  point  to  escape  it.  It  was  argued,  that  it.  would  be  cheaper 
for  England  to  support,  at  the  public  expense,  five  millions  of 
operatives,  than  to  incur  the  cost,  besides  the  unpleasantness 
of  an  embroilment  in  American  affairs ;  and  it  was  in  this 
spirit  of  selfish  calculation — the  results  of  which  were  stated 
by  Lord  ralmerston  in  the  declaration,  that  the  "necessities" 
of  Englarul  had  not  reached  that  point  to  require  her  to  inter- 
fere, in  any  manner,  in  the  American  war — that  it  was  ulti- 
mately decided  by  the  British  government  to  maintain  her 
neutrality  with  reference  to  the  blockade,  as  well  as  other  in- 
cidents of  the'war. 

About  the  fall  of  the  year,  the  South  had  begun  to  feel  se- 
verely the  effects  of  the  blockade.  Supplies  of  the  usual  goods, 
and  even  provisions,  were  becoming  scarce.  The  evils  were 
augmented  every  day  in  the  results  of  a  baneful  spirit  of  specu- 
lation, which  indulged  in  monstrous  extortions  and  corrupted 
the  public  spirit,  making  opportunities  for  mercenary  adventure 
out  of  the  distresses  and  necessities  of  the  country.  There 
was  great  suffering  among  the  poor,   and  especially  among 


236  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE1  WAR.  ,, 

refugees  who  had  fled  to  the  cities  from  districts  occupie.d  by 
the  enemy. 

The  resources  of  the  South  were  such,  however,  that  any- 
thing like  famine  or  actual  starvation,  of  any  portion  of  the 
people,  was  not  to  be  apprehended.'  The  changes  which  hap- 
pened in  the  circumstances  and  pursuits  of  people,  were  not 
always  as  unfortunate  as  they  appeared,  and,  in  the  end,  not 
unfrequently  proved  an  advantage  to  them  and  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country.  Many  new  enterprises  were  started ; 
many  sources  of  profitable  labour  were  sought  out;  and  many 
instances  of  the  diversion  of  popular  industry  were  occasioned, 
which  promised  to  become  of  permanent  advantage  in  develop- 
ing the  resources  of  the  country  in  minerals  and  manufactures, 
and  introducing  provision  crops  on  &n  enlarged  scale  in  the 
Cotton  States  of  the  Confederacy. 

In  the  month  of  December  occurred  an  event  which  promised 
the  most  fortunate  consequences  to  the  South,  with  respect  to 
foreign  intervention  and  her  release  from  the  blockade.  The 
Confederate  government  had  deputed  Mr.  James  M.  Mason,  of 
Virginia,  and  Mr.  John  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  Commissioners, 
respectively,  to  England  and  France.  They  had  escaped  the 
blockade  at  Charleston  on  a  Confederate  vessel,  and  arriving 
at  the  neutral  port  of  Havana,  had  left  there  on  the  7th  day  of 
December  in  a  British  mail  steamer,  the  Trent,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Moir.  The  next  day  after  leaving  port,  the  British  vessel, 
while  in  the  Bahama  channel,  was  intercepted  by  the  Federal 
steam  frigate  San  Jacinto,  Commander  Wilkes, *being  brought 
to  by  a  shotted  gun,  and  boarded  by  an  armed  boat's  crew. 
The  persons  of  the  Commissioners  and  their  Secretaries,  Messrs. 
Eustis  and  Macfarland,  were  demanded;  they  claimed  the  pro- 
tection of  the  British  flag,  and  refused  to  leave  it  except  at  the 
instance  of  actual  physical  force,  which  Lieut.  Fairfax,  who 
had  boarded  the  vessel,  then  declared  he  was  ready  to  use. 
The  Trent  was  an  unarmed  steamer,  and,  as  resistance  was 
hopeless,  the  Commissioners  were  surrendered  under  a  distinct 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  237 

and  passionate  protest  against  a  piratical  seizure  of  ambassa- 
dors under  a  neutral  flag. 

This  outrage  done  by  a  Federal  vessel  to  the  British  flag, 
•when  it  was  learned  in  the  South,  was  welcome  news,  as  it  was 
thought  certain  that  the  British  government  would  resent  the 
insult,  and  as  the  boastful  and  exultant  tone  in  the  North,  over 
the  capture  of  the  Commissioners,  appeared  to  make  it  equally 
certain  that  the  government  at  Washington  would  not  surrender 
its  booty.  War  between  England  and  the  North  was  thought 
to  be  imminent.  Providence  was  declared  to  be  in  our  favour; 
the  incident  of  the  Trent  was  looked  upon  almost  as  a  special 
dispensation,  and  it  was  said,  in  fond  imagination,  that  on  its 
deck  and  in  the  trough  of  the  weltering  Atlantic  the  key  of 
the  blockade 'had  at  last  been  lost. 

These  prospects  were  disappointed  by  the  weakness  of  the 
government  at  Washington,  in  surrendering  the  Commissioners 
and  returning  them  to  the  British  flag.  The  surrender  was  an 
exhibition  of  meanness  and  cowardice  unparalleled  in  the  politi- 
cal  history  of  the  civilized  world,  but  strongly  characteristic  of 
the  policy  and  mind  of  the  North.  The  people  of  the  North 
had,  at  first,  gone  into  raptures  over  the  arrest  of  the  commis- 
sioners ;  the  newspapers  designated  it  as  "  worth  more  than  a 
victory  in  the  ield ;  "  the  hospitalities  of  the  city  of  New  York 
were  offered  by  its  common  council  to  Capt.  Wilkes,  and  a  din- 
ner was  given  him  by  leading  citizens  of  Boston,  in  honour  of 
his  brave  exploit  in  successfully  capturing,  from  the  deck  of  an 
unarmed  mail  steamer,  four  unarmed  passengers.  The  govern- 
ment at  Washington  had  given  every  indication  of  its  approval 
of  the  arrest.  The  compliments  of  the  Cabinet  had  been  ten- 
dered to  Capt.  Wilkes,  and  a  proposition  introduced  into  Con- 
gress to  distinguish  his  piratical  adventure  by  a  public  vote  of 
thanks.  The  subjects  of  the  capture  were  condemned  to  close 
cells  in  Fort  Warren. 

Despite  all  this  manifest  endorsement  by  the  government  of 
the  legality  and  value  of  the  arrest  of  the  Commissioners,  Mr. 
Seward  did  not  hesitate  to  surrender  them  when   the  alter- 


238  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

native  of  war  with  Great  Britain  was  indicated  to  him,  in  the 
dispatches  of  that  government  demanding,  in  very  simple  and 
stern  terms',  the  reparation  of  the  outrage  that  had  been  com- 
mitted upon  its  flag. 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  representative  of  the  Wash- 
ington government  at  London,  Mr.  Seward  had  advised  him 
to  make  no  explanations,  as  the  Washington  Cabinet  thought 
it  better  that  the  ground  taken  by  the  British  government 
should  be  first  made  known  to  them.  The  ground  of  its  claims 
was  never  furnished  by  the  British  government.  Its  demand 
for  reparation  and  apology  was  entirely  naked  and  evidently 
disdained  to  make  a  single  argument  on  the  law  question. 
With  unexampled  shamelessness,  Mr.  Seward  made  the  plea 
himself  for  the  surrender  of  the  commissioners";  he  argued 
that  they  could  not  be  the  subjects  of  a  judicial  proceeding  to 
determine  their  status,  because  the  vessel,  the  proper  subject 
of  such  a  proceeding,  had  been  permitted  to  escape ;  and  with 
a  contemptible  affectation  of  alacrity  to  offer,  from  a  returning 
sense  of  justice,  what  all  the  world  knew  had  Been  extorted 
from  the  alarms  of  cowardice,  he  declared  that  he  "  cheer- 
fully" surrendered  the  commissioners,  and  did  so  in  accord- 
ance with  long-established  American  doctrine. 

In  surrendering  the  commissioners,  the  Washington  govern- 
ment took  the  opportunity  to  declare  its  re-assured  hopes  of 
the  Union,  and  to  express  its  contempt  for  the  Southern  revo- 
lution. In  his  letter  to  Earl  Russell,  Mr.  Seward  took  par- 
ticular pains  to  declare,  that  "  the  safety  of  the  Union  did 
not  require  the  detention  of  the  captured  persons ; "  that  an 
"  effectual  check  "  had  been  put  to  the  "existing  insurrection," 
and  that  its  "waning  proportions"  made  it  no  longer  a  subject 
of  serious  consideration. 

The  declaration  was  false  and  affected,  but  it  contained  an 
element  of  truth.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  at  the  time  it  was 
made,  the  power  of  the  revolution  in  the  South  was  declining  J 
and  a  rapid  survey  of  the  political  posture  and  of  events  trans- 
piring in  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1861  affords  painful  evi- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  239 

dence  of  relaxation  on  the  par^of  the  Confederate  government, 
and  of  instances  of  -weakness  and  abuse  that  the  people,  who 
had  pledged  everything  and  endured  everything  in  a  contest 
for  freedom,  had  no  right  to  expect. 

REVIEW  OF  AFFAIRS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  TEAR  18G1. 

The  justice  of  history  compels  us  to  state  that  two  causes — 
the  overweening  confidence' of  the  South  in  the  superiour 
valour  of  its  people,  induced  hy  the  unfortunate  victory  of 
Manassas,  and  the  vain  delusion,  continued  from  month  to 
month,  that  European  interference  was  certain,  and  that  peace 
was  near  at  hand — conspired,  about  .this  time,  to  reduce  tho 
Southern  cause  to  a  critical  condition  of  apathy. 

"Western  Virginia  had  been  abandoned  to  the  enemy  almost 
with  indifference,  and  with  an  apathetic  confidence  in  an  army 
that  was  in  danger  of  becoming  demoralized,  and  in  the  pros- 
pects of  European  interference,  which  were  no  brighter  than 
formerly,  except  in  imagination,  the  South  carelessly  observed 
the  immense  preparations  of  the  North,  by  sea  and  land,  to 
extend  the  area  of  the  contest  from  the  coasts  of  Carolina  to 
the  States  on  the  Mississippi,  and  to  embrace  her  whole  terri- 
tory with  the  lengthening  arms  of  the  war. 

Whilst  the  enemy  was  busy  making  his  immense  naval  pre- 
parations against  our  sea-coast,  and  building  scores  of  gun- 
boats on  the  Upper  Mississippi  to  drive  our  armies  out  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  the  Southern  government  had  shown 
the  most  extraordinary  apathy  ;  the  spirit  of  our  armies  was 
evidently  decaying,  and  abuses  of  extraordinary  magnitude' had 
crept  into  the  civil  administration  of  our  affairs.  No  corres- 
ponding activity  was  manifested  by  us  in  the  line  of  naval  en- 
terprise adopted  by  the  enemy.  Means  were  not  wanting  for 
at  least  some  emulation  in  this  respect.  Large  appropriations 
had  Been  made  by  Congress  for  the  construction  of  gun-boats 
and  objects  of  river  defence;  the  State  of  Virginia  had  turned 
over  to  the  Confederate  government  the  best  navy-yard  on  the 
continent  and   two  armouries  with  their  machinery ;  and  with 


240  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

• 

the  moans  and  appliances  at  Gfcsport  and  Richmond,  it  is  not 
doubted  that,  with  proper  activity,  the  government  might  have 
created  a  considerable  fleet.  m 

The  North  had  improved  the  advantage  of  its  possession  of 
a  navy  by  increasing  its  numbers.  Nearly  a  hundred  vessels 
of  different  descriptions  were  purchased  by  it,  and  fleets  of 
gun-boats  fitted  out  for  operations  on  the  coast  and  rivers. 
Two  naval  expeditions  had  already,  before  the  close  of  the 
year,  been  sent  down  the  Carolina  coast,  and,  without  accom- 
plishing much,  had  given  serious  indications  of  what  was  to  be 
expected  from  this  arm  of  the  service  on  the  slight  fortifications 
of  our  ocean  frontier. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  a  naval  expedition  from  Fortress 
Monroe,  under  command  of  Commodore  Stringham  and  Major- 
General  Butler,  had  reduced  the  two  forts  at  Hatteras  Inlet, 
and  had  signalized  their  victory  by  the  capture  of  fifteen  guns 
and  615  prisoners,  among  whom  was  Commodore  Barron,  the 
Confederate  officer  in  command. 

The  capture  of  Port  Royal,  on  the  South  Carolina  coast,  on 
the  7th  of  November,  by  the  bombardment  of  Forts  Walker 
and  Beauregard,  gave  to  the  enemy  a  point  for  his  squadrons 
to  find  shelter,  and  a  convenient  naval  depot.  The  attack  was 
made  on  the  7th  of  November  by  a  Federal  fleet,  numbering 
fifteen  war  steamers  and  gun-boats,  under  command  of  Captain 
Dupont,  flag  officer  of  the  South  Atlantic  blockading  squadron. 
The  attack  was  easily  successful  by  the  bombardment  of  the 
forts  at  the  entrance  of  the  sound.  It  may  be  imagined  how 
inefficient  our  defences  must  have  been  when  the  fact  is,  that 
they  yielded  after  a%bombardment  which  continued  precisely 
four  hours  and  thirty  minutes ;  the  condition  of  Fort  Walker 
at  this  time  being,  according  to  the  official  report  of  General' 
Drayton,  who  was  in  command,  "  all  but  three  of  the  guns  in 
the  water  front  disabled  and  only  five  hundred  pounds  of  pow- 
der in  the  magazine."  But  these  were  only  the  first  lessons  of 
the  enemy's  power  and  our  improvidence  in  defences,  that  were 
to  be  taught  us  on  the  coast. 


THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  241 

The  privateering  service  had  yielded  us  but  poor  fruits.  The 
Savannah,  the  first  of  the  privateers,  was  captured,  and  her 
crew  treated  as  pirates,  at  least  so  far  as  -to  load  them  with 
irons  and  confine  them  in  felons'  cells.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Sumter  (an  awkwardly  rigged  bark)  and  one  or  two  others, 
the  privateers  of  the  South  were  pretty  closely  confined  within 
their  own  harbours  and  rivers  by  the  blockading  fleets.  The 
"  militia  of  the  seas,"  that  it  was  predicted,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  war,*  would  penetrate  into  every  sea,  and  find  splendid 
prizes  in  the  silk  ships  of  China  and  the  gold-freighted  steamers 
of  California,  had  proved  but  an  inconsiderable  annoyance  to 
the  extensive  commercial  marine  of  the  North  ;  it  had  captured 
during  the  year  but  fifty  prizes  in  smacks,  schooners  and  small 
merchantmen,  and  by  this  time  the  South  had  learned  that  its 
privateering  resources  were  about  as  delusive  as  that  other 
early  and  crude  expectation  of  adventitious  aid  in  the  war — 
the  power  of  "King  Cotton.'* 

It  is  curious,  indeed,  how  the  early  expectations  of  th»  man- 
ner and  conduct  of  a  war  arc  disappointed  by  the  progress  of 
its  events  and  its  invariable  law  of  success  in  the  stern  compe- 
titions of  force,  without  reference  to  other  circumstances.  It 
was  said,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  that,  while  cotton  would 
"bring  Europe  to  its  knees,"  the  Southern  privateers  would 
cut  up  the  commerce  of  the  North,  and  soon  bring  the  merce- 
nary and  money-making  spirits  of  that  section  to  repentance. 
Neither  result  was  realized.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1861, 
the  South  appeared  to  be  fully  convinced  that  it  was  waging  a 
war  in  which  it  could  no  longer  look  for  aid  to  external  and 
adventitious  circumstances  ;  that  it  could  no  longer  hope  to 
obtain  its  independence  fr.om  •European  interference,  or  from 
cotton',  or  from  the  annoyances  of  its  privateers,  or  from  the 
rupture  of  a  financial  system  in  the  North;  and  that  it  had  no 
other  resource  of  hope  but  in  the  stern  and  bloody  trials  of  the 
battle-field. 

Beyond  the  events  briefly  sketched  in  this  and  the  foregoing 
chapters,  there  were  some  incidents  which  were  interesting  as 
16 


242  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

episodes  in  the  progress  of  the  war,  up  to  the  close  of  the  year 
1861,  to  which  a  full  reference  has  been  impossible  in  a  work 
which  professes  to  treat  only  the  material  parts  of  the  import- 
ant campaigns  of  the  year. 

The  most  interesting  of  these  was  probably  the  attack  on 
Santa  Rosa  Island,  in  the  harbour  of  Pensacola,  on  the  night 
of  the  8th  October,  and  the  storming  by  picked  companies 
from  the  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Florida 
regiments  of  the  camp  which  had  been  made  on  thS  island  by 
the  notorious  Billy-Wilson  Zouaves.  Landing  from  steamers 
and  flats  on  the  enemy's  shore,  within  sight  of  his  fleet,  the 
small  band  of  Confederates  marched  some  three  or  four  miles 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night  over  an  unknown  and  almost 
impassable  ground,  killing  the  enemy's  pickets,  storming  his 
entrenched  camp,  driving  off  the  notorious  regiment  of.  New 
York  bullies,  with  their  colonel  flying  at  their  head,  and  burn- 
ing every  vestige  of  their  clothing,  equipage  and  provisions. 
This  action  was  rendered  remarkable  by  an  instance  of  dis- 
gusting brutality  on  the  part  of  the  enemy — the  murder  of  our 
wounded  who  had  been  left  on  the  field  on  account  of  the 
necessity  of  rapidly  retiring  with  our  small  force,  before  the 
enemy  could  rally  from  his  surprise.  Of  thirteen  dead  bodies 
recovered,  eleven  were  shot  through  the  head,  having,  at  the 
same  time,  disabling  wounds  on  the  body.  This  fact  admits 
of  but  one  inference. 

The  affair  of  Dranesville,  on  the  line  of  the  Potomac,  had 
given  a  sharp  and  unexpected  lesson  to  our  immoderate  confi- 
dence. This  action  occurred  on  the  22d  day  of  December. 
Our  whole  force  engaged  was  nearly  2,500  men,  composed  of 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Keatucky  and  Alabama  troops, 
under  command  of  Gen.  Stuart.  The  expedition,  which  was 
attended  by  a  train  of  wagons  intended  for  foraging  purposes, 
fell  in  with  the  enemy  near  Dranesville.  On  the  appearance 
of  the  enemy,  the  11th  Virginia  regiment  charged  them  with  a 
yell,  and  drove  them  back  to  their  lines  within  sight  of  Dranes- 
ville.    Here  the  enemy  rallied.     In  the  confusion  which   en- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  243 

sued,  the  1st  Kentucky  regiment  fired  upon  the  South  Carolina 
troops,  mistaking  them  for  the  enemy.  Discovering  his  mis- 
take, Colonel  Taylor,  of  the  1st  Kentucky,  moved  cautiously 
through  the  woods.  Coming  in  sight  of  another  regiment, 
and  prompted  to  unusual  caution  by  his  previous  mistake,  he 
shouted  to  their  commander  to  know  who  he  was.  "  The 
colonel  of  the  9th,"  was  the  reply.  "  Of  what  9th  ?"  "  Don't . 
shoot,"  said  the  Yankees ;  "  we  are  friends — South  Carolin- 
ians." "On  which  side  are  you?"  asked  Col.  Taylor.  "For 
the  Union,"  now  shouted  the  Federals ;  at  the  same  instant 
pouring  a  murderous  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  Kentuckians. 
The  engagement  now  became  general.  The  Federals  had  the 
advantage  of  position  and  largely  superiour  numbers.  Their 
field  batteries  swept  our  lines,  and  several  regiments  of  their 
infantry,  protected  by  the  ground,  had  advanced  within  one  « 
hundred  yards  -of  us,  keeping  the  air  full  of  Minnie  balls. 
After  sustaining  the  fire  for  some  time,  our  troops  were  com- 
pelled to  fall  back.  The  retreat  was  executed  in  good  order, 
as  the  enemy  did*  not  attempt  any  pursuit.  Our  loss  on  the* 
field  from  "which  we  were  repulsed  was  about  two  hundred  in 
killed  and  wounded.  The  next  day,  reinforcements  having 
reached  Gen.  Stuart,  the  enemy  had  drawn  off  from  the  locality 
of  the  battle-field,  and  declined  any  further  engagement. 

The  affair  at  Dranesville  was  no  serious  disaster,  but  it  was 
a  significant  warning,  and,  in  this  respect,  it  had  an  import- 
ance beyond  the  size  of  the  engagement  and  its  immediate  re- 
sults. The  Yankees  were  learning  to  stand  fire,  and,  out  of 
the  material  which  was  raw  at  Bull's  Run,  McClellan  was 
making  troops  who  were  no  longer  contemptible,  and  who  were 
perceptibly  improving  in  discipline,  staunchness  and  soldierly 
qualities. 

Of  the  political  measures  adopted  by  the  South  in  further- 
ance of  the  objects  of  the  war,  but  a  few  words  need  be  said. 
They  are  justly  described  as  weak  and  halting  responses  to  the 
really  vigorous  acts  of  the  Northern  government  in  its  heart-' 
less,  but  strong  and  effective  prosecution  of  the  war.     While 


244  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

the  Washington  government  protected  itself  against  disaffected 
persons  and  spies  by  a  system  of  military  police,  extending 
over  the  whole  North,  the  Provisional  Congress,  at  Richmond, 
was  satisfied  to  pass  a  law -for  the  deportation  of  "alien  ene- 
mies," the  execution  of  which  afforded  facilities  to  the  egress 
of  innumerable  spies.  The  Washington  government  had  passed 
a  law  for  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  "  rebels."  The 
Congress  at  Richmond  replied,  after  a  weak  hesitation,  by  a  • 
law  sequestrating  the  property  of  alien  enemies  in  the  South, 
the  operations  of  which  could  never  have  been  intended  to 
have  effect;  for,  by  future  amendments  in  the  same  Congress, 
the  law  was  soon  emasculated  into  a  broad  farce.  The  Wash- 
ington government  was  actually  collecting  an  army  of  half  a 
million  of  men.     The  Richmond  Congress  replied  to  the  threat 

,  of  numbers,  by  increasing  its  army,  on  paper,  to  four  hundred 
thousand  men ;  and  the  Confederate  government,  in  the  midst 
of  a  revolution  that  threatened  its  existence,  continued  to  rely 
on  the  wretched  shift  of  twelve  months'  volunteers  and  raw 

"militia,  with  a  population  that,  by  the  operation  of  conscrip- 
tion, could  have  been  embodied  and  drilled  in  an# invincible 
army,  competent  not  only  to  oppose  invasion  at  every  point. of 
our  frontier,  but  to  conquer  peace  in  the  dominions  of  the 
enemy. 

The  universal  mind  and  energy  of  the  North  had  been  con- 
solidated in  its  war  upon  the  South.  The  patriotism  of  the 
nation  was  broadly  invoked ;  no  clique  arrogated  and  monopo- 
lized the  control  of  affairs ;  no  favorites  closed  up  against  the 
million  outside  the  avenues  of  patronage,  of  honour  and  of  pro- 
motion. It  was  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  North 
had,  at  all  stages  of  the  war,  adopted  the  best  means  for  secur- 
ing specific  results.  The  popularity  of  Fremont,  wi£h  the  half 
million  "  Wide  Awakes"  of  the  North,  was  used  to  bring  an 
army  into  the  field.  The  great  ship-broker  of  New  York, 
Morgan,  and  the  great  ship-owner,  Vanderbilt,  were  patronized 
to  create'a  navy.  In  the  army,  the  popularity  of  Banks,  But- 
ler, Grant  and  Baker  were  employed  equally  with  the  science 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  -45 

of  McClellan,  Buell  and  Hallack.*  It  had  been  thus  that  the 
Federal  government  had  united  the  whole  North,  brought  an 
army  of-  half  a  million  men  into  the  field,  and  swelled  the  pro- 
portions of  the  war  far  beyond  any  expectations  of  the  world. 
The  policy  of  monotonous  defence  had  been  pcrseveringly 
pursued  by  the  authorities  of  the  Confederacy.  On  the  .side 
of  the  enemy,  it  had  more  than  repaired  the  damage  inflicted 
\ipon   them  in  many  brilliant  battles,  and   had  left  them  at 

*  The  two  most  conspicuous  Federal  generals  in  the  operations  of  the  West 
■were  Generals  Buell  and  Halleck.  Don  Carlos  Buell  was  a  native  of  Ohio. 
He  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war  with  distinction,  having  been  twice  bre- 
vetted  for  gallant  conduct — the  last  time  as  major  in  the  battle  of  Churubusco, 
in  whiph  he  was  severely  wounded.  At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  he  was 
appointed  assistant  adjutant-general  with  rank  of  captain,  but  relinquished 
his  rank  in  line  in  1851.  As  a  commander,  he  was  courageous,  energetic  and 
methodical,  and  he  obtained  the  res-poet  of  the  South  for  his  chivalric  dispo- 
sition, his  courteous  behaviour  to  prisoners,  and  his  uniform  recognition  of 
the  laws  and  amenities  of  civilized  warfare. 

Gen.  Henry  Wager  Halleck,  before  the  war,  had  been  but  little  known  and 
that  only  as  the  author  of  some  military  works,  and  a  prominent  land  lawyer, 
deeplj'  versed  in  Mexican  titles,  at  the  bar  "f  Sun  Francisco,  California.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  West  Point,  and  had  been  brevetted  captain  for  meritorious 
services  in  California  during  the  Mexican  war.  He  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  province  of  California  in  the  military  governments  of  Generals 
Kearney,  Mason  and  Riley,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  to  form  and 
one  of  the  committee  to  draft  the  State  Constitution  of  California  in  1819. 
He  subsequently  disappeared  from  public  attention,  and  occupied  himself 
with  his  innumerable  Mexican  clients  in  California  as  a  lawyer  aud  land 
speculator. 

A  correspondent  gives  the  following  account  of  the  personnel  of  General 
Halleck;  "In  the  field  he  is  hardly  the  same  person  who  might  have  beea 
seen  quietly  gliding  from  the  Planters'  House  to  headquarters  in  St.  Louisi 
He  does  not  look  a  whit  more  military  in  appearance,  but  looks,  in  his  new 
and  rich,  though  plain  uniform,  as  if  he  were  in  borrowed  clothes.  In  truth, 
he  bears  a  most  striking  resemblance  to  some  oleaginous  Methodist  parson 
dressed  in  regimentals,  with  a  wide,  stiff- rimmed  black  felt  hat  sticking  on 
the  back  of  his  head,  at  an  acute  angle  with  the  ground.  His  demeanour  in 
front  of  his  tent  is  very  simple  aud  business-like.  When  on  horseback,  his 
Wesleyan  character  is  more  and  more  prominent.  He  neither  looks  like  a 
soldier,  rides  like  one,  nor  does  he  carry  the  state  of  a  major-general  in  the 
field,  but  is  the  impersonation  of  the  man  of  peace.  His  face  is  large,  tabular 
and  Teutonic;  his  eyes  a  kind  »f  hulistinct  gray,  not  without  expression,  but 
of  that  deep  welling  kind  that  only  reveal  the  emotion  without  indicating  its 
character." 


246  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

perfect  leisure,  in  the  very  presence  of  our  forces,  to  devise, 
mature  and  make  trial  of  any  plan  of  campaign  or  assault 
•which  they  thought  expedient.  A  large  portion  of  Virginia 
and  important  regions  on  the  Southern  seaboards  were  now 
occupied  by  the  enemy,  who  would  never  have  ventured  forth 
to  such  distances,  if  they  had  been  menaced  nearer  home.  The 
strictly  defensive  policy  was  sustained  by  elaborate  arguments. 
It  is  not  within  the  design  of  our  work  to  canvass  the  logicifl 
value  of  these  arguments;  but  it  is  to  recognize  as  a  fact  the 
natural  and  almost  universal  impression  made  upon  the  popular 
mind  of  the  South,  that  it  could  not  be  good  generalship  which 
left  the  enemy  at  perfect  leisure  to  mature  all  his  preparations 
for  aggression,  and  that  it  could  not  be  a  glorious  system  of 
warfare,  which  never  ventured  an  aggressive  movement  and 
which  decimated  its  armies  by  inaction. 

In  the  administration  of  the  civil  polity  of  the  Southern 
army,  as  distinguished  from  its  command,  there  were  abuses 
and  defects  which  were  constant  sources  of  newspaper 
comment. 

In  the  Quartermaster's  department,  however,  the  results  ac- 
complished by  the  energy  of  its  directors  were  little  less  than 
surprising,  and  received  the  marked  commendation  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Provisional  Congress,  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  civil  polity  of  the  army.  That  the  immense  army  now  in 
the  service  of  the  Confederate  States,  suddenly  collected,  men 
and  officers  generally  inexperienced  in  camp  life  and  military 
duty,  should  be  clothed,  armed,  and  moved  with  the  facility  of 
a  permanent  organization,  were  not  to  be  expected ;  and  yet, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  this  result  was  accomplished.  Major 
Alfred  M.  Barbour,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  Chief  Quar- 
termaster of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  our  principal  corps 
d'armees  in  the  field;  and  his  remarkable  resources  of  judgment, 
his  vast  energy,  and  his  untiring  devotion  to  his  extensive  du- 
ties in  the  field,  contributed  most  important  results  in  the  emer- 
gencies of  the  many  sudden  and  rapid  movements  of  our  forces 
in  Virginia,  in  the  remarkable  campaign  in  that  «3tate  of  the 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  247 

spring  of  1862.  Such  contributions  to  the  public  service  are 
not  to  be  depreciated  by  the  side  of  more  visible,  and,  in  the 
popular  mind,  more  brilliant  achievements  of  the  war.  The 
labours  of  the  Quartermaster's  department  penetrate  the  entire 
military  establishment,  breathe  life  into  the  army,  nurture  its 
growth,  and  give  it  strength  and  efficiency  in  the  field;  vigi- 
lant, prepared  and  present,  it  moves  unnoticed  amid  the  stirring 
events  of  the  field,  and  obscured  by  the  dust  and  smoke  of  the 
combat,  it  remains  unobserved  even  while  collecting  the  fruiti 
of  victory. 

The  most  distressing  abuses  were  visible  in  the  ill-regulated 
hygiene  of  our  camps.  The  ravages  of  disease  among  the 
army  in  Virginia  were  terrible;  the  accounts  of  its  extent  were 
suppressed  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  thousands  of  our  brave  troops  disappeared  from  notice 
without  a  record  of  their  end,  in  the  nameless  graves  that  yet 
mark  the  camping  ground  on  the  lines  of  the  Potomac,  and 
among  the  wild  mountains  of  Virginia. 

Our  camps  were  scourged  with  fever,  pneumonia  and  diar- 
rhoea. The  armies  on  the  Potomac  and  in  Western  Virginia 
suffered  greatly — those  troops  in  Cheat  Mountain  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Kanawha  Valley  most  intensely.  The  wet  and 
changeable  climate,  the  difficulty  of  transportation,  exposure 
to  cold  and  rain  without  tents,  the  necessary  consequences  of 
the  frequent  forward  and  retrograde  movements,  as  well  as  the 
want  of  suitable  food  for  either  sick  or  well  men,  produced 
most  of  the  sickness,  and  greatly  aggravated  it  after  its 
accession. 

The  regulations,  requiring  reports  from  the  regiments  as  to 
the  number  of  sick,  their  diseases,  and  the  wants  of  the  medi- 
cal station,  were,  but  in  few  instances,  complied  with.  The  re- 
sult of  this  neglect  was,  that  upon  a  change  of  position  in  the 
army,  it  was  the  unhappy  consequence  that  the  number  of  sick 
greatly  exceeded  that  indicated  by  the  reports.  They  were 
hurried  to  the  rear,  where  the  accommodations,  both  as  to  food, 


248  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

shelter  and  medical  attendance,  being  all  insufficient,  there  was 
great  suffering  and  great  mortality. 

The  suffering  of  our  army  evoked,  on  the  part  of  the  South- 
ern people,  demonstrations  of  patriotic  devotion  and  generosity 
such,  perhaps,  as  the  -world  had  never  seen.  The  patriotism 
of  our  citizens  at  home  was  manifested  in  unremitting  efforts  to- 
supply  the  wants  and  relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers,  sick 
and  well.  The  supply  of  money,  clothing  and  hospital  stores, 
from  this  voluntary  and  generous  source,  is  estimated  in  mil- 
lions of  dollars.*  It  was  the  most  cheering  indication  of  the 
spirit  of  our  people  in  the  cause  of  independence.  The  women 
of  the  country,  with  the  tenderness  and  generosity  of  their 
sex,  not  only  loaded  railroad  cars  with  all  those  appliances  for 
the  comfort  of  the  sick,  which  their  patriotic  ingenuity  could 
devise,  but  also  came  to  the  rescue  in  clothing  those  who  were 
well  and  bearing  arms  in  the  field.  They  made  large  pecuni- 
ary contributions,  took  charge  of  the  hospitals  established  by 

*  The  following  contributions  (estimated  in  money)  were  listed  at  the  Pass- 
port Office,  in  Richmond,  daring  the  last  three  months  of  the  year  1801.  The 
list  comprises  almost  exclusive^'  the  donations  made  to  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac. Of  the  voluntary  supplies  sent  to  the  army  in  Missouri,  Arkansas  and 
Kentucky,  there  is  no  account  whatever;  but,  as  the  same  patriotic  devotion 
animated  our  people  everywhere,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  ati  equal 
amount  of  clothing,  stores,  &c,  had  been  sent  to  those  troops.  With  this  cal-< 
dilation,  the  whole  amount  of  contributions  for  the  last  quarter  of  the  year 
1861,  could  not  have  fallen  short  of  three  millions  of  dollars: 

North  Carolina > $325,417 

Alabama 317,600 

Mississippi 272,670 

Georgia 244,885 

South  Carolina .• 137,206 

Texas .' 87,800 

Louisiana '• 61,950 

Virginia 48,070 

Tennessee 17,000 

Florida 2,350 

Arkansas : 950 

$1,515,898 


THE    FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  •    249 

the  States,  and,  as  matrons  of  those  institutions,  carried  clean- 
liness and  comfort  to  the  gallant  soldier,  far  from  home  and 
kindred.  A  committee  of  the  Provisional  Congress  placed  on 
record  the  thanks  of  the  country  to  the  women  of  the  South, 
for  their  works  of  patriotism  and  public  charity,  and  declared 
that  the  government  owed  them  "a  public  acknowledgment 
of  their  faithfulness  in  the  glorious  work  of  effecting  our 
independence." 


250  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OP  THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Prospects  of  the  Year  1862. ..The  Lines  of  the  Potomac. ..General  Jackson'g 
Expedition  to  Winchester. ..The  Battle  of  Mill  Springs  in  Kentucky... 
General  Crittenden. ..Death  »f  General  Zollicoffer...  Sufferings  of  Crittenden's 
Army  on  the  Retreat. ..Comparative  Unimportance  of  the  Disaster. ..The  Bat- 
tle of  Roanoke  Island. ..Importance  of  the  Island  to  the  South. ..Death  of 
Captain  Wise. ..Causes  of  the  Disaster  to  the  South. ..Investigation  in  Con- 
gress...Censure  «f  the  Government. ..Interviews  of  General  Wise  vrith  Mr. 
Benjamin,  the  Secretary  of  War.,. Mr.  Benjamin  Censured  by  Congress,  but 
Retained  in  the  Cabinet... His  Promotion  by  President  Davis. ..Condition  of 
the  Popular  Sentiment. 

The  year  1862  was  to  bring  in  a  train  of  disasters  to  the 
South.  Taking  a  brief  glance  at  the  lines  of  the  Potomac, 
we  shall  thereafter  have  to  find  the  chief  interest  of  the  war 
in  other  directions — in  the  West  and  on  the  seacoast. 

In  December  last,  Gen.  Thomas  J.  Jackson  was  sent  from 
Gen.  Johnston's  line  to  Winchester  with  a  force  at  his  disposal 
of  some  ten  thousand  men.  Had  the  same  force  been  placed 
at  the  command  of  Gen.  Jackson  in  early  autumn,  with  the 
view  to  an  expedition  to  Wheeling,  by  way  of  the  Winchester 
and  Parkersburg  road,  the  good  effects  would,  in.  all  proba- 
bility, have  shown  themselves  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Federals 
from  Northwestern  Virginia. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1862,  Gen.  Jackson  marched  with 
his  command  from  Winchester  to  Bath,  in  Morgan  county, 
and  from  the  latter  place  to  Romney,  where  there  had  been  a 
large  Federal  force  for  many  weeks,  and  from  which  point 
they  had  committed  extensive  depredations  on  the.  surrounding 
country.  Gen.  Jackson  drove  the  enemy  from  Romney  and 
the  neighboring  country  without  much  fighting.  His  troops, 
however,  endured  the  severest  hardships  in  the  expedition. 
Their  sufferings  were  terrible  in  what  was  the  severest  portion 
of  the  winter.     They  were  compelled  at  one  time  to  struggle 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  251 

through  an  almost-  blinding  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  and  to 
bivouac  at  night  in  the  forests,  without  tents  or  camp  equip- 
age. Many  of  the  troops  were  frozen  on  the  march,  and  died 
from  exposure  and  exhaustion.  ( 

The  heroic  commander,  whose  courage  had  been  so  bril- 
liantly illustrated  at  Manassas,  gave  new  proofs  of  his  iron 
will  in  this  expedition  and  the  subsequent  events  of  his  cam- 
paign in  the  upper  portion  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  No  one 
would  have  supposed  that  a  man,  who,  at  the  opening  of  the 
war,  had  been  a  professor  in  a  State  military  institute — that 
at  Lexington,  Virginia — could  have  shown  such  active  deter- 
mination and  grim  energy  in  the  field.  But  Gen.  Jackson  had 
been  brought  up  in  a  severer  school  of  practical  experience 
than  West  Point,  where  he  had  graduated  twenty  years  before  ; 
he  had  served  in  the  memorable  'campaign  from  Vera  Cruz,  to 
Mexico ;  and  an  iron  will  and  stern  courage,  which  he  had 
from  nature,  made  him  peculiarly  fitted  to  command.*     But 

*  At  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  Jackson  commanded  a  battery  and  attracted 
attention  by  the  coolness  and  judgment  with  which  he  worked  his  guns,  and 
Was  promoted  first  lieutenant.  For  his  conduct  at  Cerre  Gordo,  he  was  bre- 
vetted  captain.  He  was  iu  all  Scott's  battles  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 
behaved  so  well  that  he  was  brevetted  major  for  his  services.  To  his  merit! 
as  a  commander  he  added  the  virtues  of  an  active,  humble,  consistent  Chris- 
tian, restraining  profanity  in  his  camp,  welcoming  army  colporteurs,  distrib- 
uting tracts,  and  anxious  to  have  every  regiment  in  his  army  supplied  with  a 
chaplain.  He  was  vulgarly  sneered  at  as  a  fatalist ;  his  habits  of  soliloquy 
were  derided  as  superstitious  conversations  with  a  familiar  spirit;  but  tha 
confidence  he  had  in  his  destiny  was  the  unfailing  mark  of  genius,  and 
adorned  the  Christian  faith,  which  made  him  believe  that  he  had  a  distinct 
mission  of  duty  in  which  he  should  be  spared  for  the  ends  of  Providence.  Of 
the  habits  of  his  life  the  following  description  is  givin  by  one  who  knew  him  : 
"  Ho  is  as  calm  in  the  midst  of  a  hurricane  of  bullets  as  he  was  in  the  pew 
of  his  church  at  Lexington,  when  he  was  professor  of  the  Institute.  Ho 
appears  to  be  a  man  of  almost  superhuman  endurauce.  Neither  heat  nor 
cold  makes  the  slightest  impression  upon  him.  He  cares  nothing  for  good 
quarters  and  dainty  fare.  Wrapped  in  his  blanket,  he  throws  himself  down 
on  the  ground  anywhere,  and  sleeps  as  soundly  as  though  he  were  in  a  palace- 
He  lives  as  the  soldiers  live,  and  endures  all  the  fatigue  and  all  the  suffering 
that  they  endure.  His  vigilance  is  something  marvellous.  He  never  seems 
to  sleep,  aud  lets  nothing  pass  without  his  personal  scrutiny.  He  can  neither 
be  caught  napping  nor  whipped  when  he  is  wide  awake.     The  rapidity  of  his 


252  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

we  must  wait  for  a  subsequent  period  to  refer  again  to  General 
Jackson's  operations  in  the  Valley,  or  to  other  portions  of  the 
campaign  in  Virginia. 

THE   BATTLE    OF   MILL    SPRINGS   IN   KENTUCKY.  . 

In  a  previous  chapter,  we  noticed  the  expedition  of  General 
Zollicoffer  in  Kentucky,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  rout  of 
the  forces  sent  against  him.  The  next  expedition  of  the  enemy 
against  him  was  successful  beyond  their  expectations. 

Since  the  affair  referred  to,  Gen.  Zollicoffer  had  moved  with 
a  portion  of  his  command  to  Mill  Springs,  on  the  southern 
bank  of  the  Cumberland  River,  and  soon  after  advanced  across 
to  Camp  Beech  Grove,  on  the  opposite  bank,  fortifying  this 
camp  with  earthworks.  At  Beech  Grove,  he  placed  five  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  twelve  pieces  of  artillery  and  several  hun- 
dred cavalry,  and  at  Mill  Springs  he  had  two  regiments  of 
infantry  and  several  hundred  cavalry.  About  the  first  of 
January,  "Major-General  Crittenden  arrived  and  took  the  com- 
mand, having  been  advanced,  by  President  Davis,  from  a 
captaincy  in  the  Federal  army  to  a  major-generalship  in  the 
Confederate  army. 

Our  position  at  Beech  Grove  had  but  few  advantages.  From 
the  face  of  the  country  in  front  there  was  a  very  bad  range  for 
artillery,  and  it  could  not  be  of  very  material  benefit  against  an 
attacking  infantry  force ;  and,  considering  the  extent  of  the  front 
line  and  the  number  of  works  to  be  defended,  there  was  within 
the  camp  an  insufficient  force.  At  the  same  time,  for  several 
weeks,  bare  existence  in  the  camps  was  very  precarious,  from 
want  of  provisions  and  forage.  Regiments  frequently  sub- 
sisted on  one-third  rations  and'  this  very  frequently  of  bread 
alone.     Wayne   county,  which   was  alone   productive  in  this 


marches  is  something  portentous.  He  is  heard  of  by  the  enemy  at  one  point, 
and,  before  they  can  make  up  their  minds  to  follow  him,  he  is  off  at  another. 
His  men  have  little  baggage,  and  he  moves,  as  nearly  as  he  can,  without 
encumbrance.  He  keeps  so_  constantly  in  motion,  that  he  never  has  a  sick 
list,  and  no  need  of  hospitals." 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  253 

region  of  Kentucky,  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  neighbor- 
ing counties  of  Tennessee  could  furnish  nothing  for  the  support 
of  the  army.  Only  corn  could  be  obtained  for  the  horses  and 
mules,  and  this  in  such  small  quantities  that  often  cavalry 
companies  were  sent  out  on  unshod  horses  which  had  eaten 
nothing  for  two  days.  The  condition  of  the  roads  and  the 
poverty  of  the  intervening  section  rendered  it  impossible  to 
transport  from  Knoxville,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles.  The  enemy  from  Columbia  commanded  the  Cumberland 
River,  and  only  o.ne  boat  was  enabled  to  come  up  with  supplies 
from  Nashville.  "With  the  channel  of  communication  closed, 
the  position  became  untenable  without  attack. 

In  these  straits,  when  the  entire  army  at  Mill  Springs  had 
been  reduced  to  a  single  ration  of  beef  per  day,  and  a  half  ra- 
tion of  corn — the  latter  eaten  as  parched  corn,  and  not  issued 
as  meal — news  reached  Gen.  Crittenden  of  an  advance  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  both  from  Columbia  and  from  Somerset. 
On  the  17th  of  January  it  was  ascertained,  that  a  large  Fede- 
ral force,  under  Gen.  Thomas,  was  moving  on  the  road  from 
Columbia,  and,  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  was  camped  about 
ten  miles  from  Beech  Grove.  It  was,  also^ascertained,  that 
other  reinforcements  were  movinir  from  the  direction  of  Colum- 
bia,  under  command  of  Gen.  Schoepf,  and  that  the  junction  of 
these  two  forces  was  intended  for  an  attack  on  Camp  Beech 
Grove. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Gen.  Crittenden  determined  to 
attack  Gen.  Thomas's  force  in  his  camp.  The  decision,  which 
was  sanctioned  by  a  council  of  war,  was  a  most  adventurous 
one.  It  was  proposed,  with  an  effective  force  of  four  thousand 
men,  to  attack  an  enemy  in  his  entrenchments,  at  least  ten 
thousand  strong;  it  is  trie,  however,  that  a  defence  of  our  en- 
trenchments was  impracticable,  and  that  to  have  awaited  the 
enemy  there  would  only  have  given  him  time  to  have  effected  a 
junction  of  his  forces.  This  consideration,  however,  gives  but 
an  imperfect  vindication  of  the  impetuous  adventure  determined 
upon  by  Gen.  Crittenden.     The  fact  was,  that  the  avenues  of 


254  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OP  THE  "WAR. 

retreat  "were  open  to  our  little  army,  and  could  only  have  been 
cut  off  by  the  enemy's  crossing  above  and  below  Mill  Springs. 

In  perfect  silence,  at  midnight,  the  rfarch  began.  The  bri- 
gade of  Gen.  Zollicoffer  moved  in  front.  In  the  grey  dawn', 
about  six  o'clock,  two  miles  from  their  camp,  the  pickets  of  the 
enemy  fired  upon  our  advanced  cavalry.  The  morning  of  the 
19th  was  dark  and  rainy — a  fit  day  for  a  Sabbath  battle.  The 
15th  Mississippi  regiment,  in  line  of  battle,  was  steadily  ad- 
vanced, under  the  constant  fire  of  the  enemy.  The  charge  of 
Gen.  ZolKcoffer's  brigade,  in  which  this  gallant  regiment  earned 
the  most  conspicuous  distinction  of  the  day,  soon  became  im- 
petuous. The  Mississippi  troops  fought  with  a  devotion  never 
excelled  by  the  soldiers  of  any  battle-field ;  nearly  half  of  the 
regiment  (it  numbered  only  440)  fell  in  the  action ;  at  times, 
they  fought  with  the  enemy  at  ten  or  twelve  paces,  and,  in  one 
of  their  sweeping  and  exultant  charges,  for  fifty  yards,  dashed 
over  the  dead  bodies  of  Yankees.  The  enemy  was  steadily 
driven  back  before  the  charge  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer's  command. 
Already,  he  was  ascending  the  last  hill  to  its  crest,  where 
the  heaviest  firing  told  the  battle  raged.  He  sent  for  rein- 
forcements,'and  t^e  brigade  of  Gen.  Carroll  was  ordered  up. 
In  another  moment,  it  was  announced  that  Gen.  Zollicoffer  was 
killed.  He  had  fallen  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  stronghold 
of  the  enemy,  which  he  had  almost  driven  them  from,  and 
which  once  gained,  the  day  was  ours. 

Gen.  Zollicoffer  fell  very  near  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  He 
was  with  Col.  Battle's  Tennessee  regiment,  this  and  the  Missis- 
sippi regiment  being  the  chief  participants  in  the  action,  and 
in  the  ranks  of  which  were  his  own  home  friends,  born  and 
brought  up  around  him  at  Nashville.  In  front,  and  concealed 
in  the  woods,  was  a  regiment  of  Kentucky  renegades,  com- 
manded by  Col.  Fry.  By  some  mistake,  probably  that  of  the 
Kentuckians  for  a  regiment  of  his  own  command,  Gen.  Zolli- 
coffer got  very  near  them.  Col.  Fry  was  at  the  right  of  his 
regiment.  Gen.  Zollicoffer  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  colonel. 
A  gum  coat  concealed  his  uniform.     The  two  parties  mistook 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  255 

each  other  for  friends,  and  discovered  their  mutual  mistake 
almost  at  the  same  instant.  One  of  General  Zollicoffer's 
aids  shot  at  Colonel  Fry,  but  only  wounded  his  horse.  The 
next  moment  the  Federal  Colonel  fired  at  Zollicoffer,  and  the 
General  raising  his  hand  to  his  breast  fell,  pierced  by  several 
balls. 

At  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  General  Zollicoffer,  a 
sudden  gloom  pervaded  the  field  and  depressed  the  Tennessee 
troops,  vrho  had  been  devotedly  attached  to  him.  Gen.  Crit- 
tenden essayed  all  that  personal  example  could  do  to  retrieve 
the  sinking  fortunes  of  the  day.  He,  in  person,  rode  up  to  the 
front  of  the  fight,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  fire  of  the  enemy. 
To  gain  the  disputed  hill,  the  fight  was  still  continued.  Charge 
after  charge  was  driven  back  by  the  heavy  forces  of  the  enemy. 
After  a  conflict  of  three  and  a  half  hours,  our  troops  com- 
menced to  give  way.  The  pursuit  was  checked  by  several 
stands  made  by  the  little  army,  and  the  entrenchments  at  Camp 
Beech  Grove  were  reached  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  loss  on  our 
side  of  about  three  hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  probably 
fifty  prisoners. 

The  advance  of  the  enemy  arrived  late  in  tte  evening  before 
the  Confederate  entrenchments  and  fired*  upon  them  with  shot 
and  shell.  Night  closing  in  put  a  stop  to  further  demonstra- 
tions. Our  men,  tired  and  worn  out  as  they  were,  stood  be- 
hind the  breastworks  until  midnight,  when  orders  came  for  them 
to  retreat  quietly  across  the  river.  A  steamer,  with  three 
barges  attached,  commenced  the  work  of-transportation.  Can- 
non, baggage  wagons  and  horses  were  abandoned ;  everything 
was  lost  save  what  our  men  had  on  their  backs,  and  yet  the 
whole  night,  was  consumed  in  getting  the  army  over  the  nver, 
which  was  ver}'  high  at  the  time.  The  line  of  retreat  was  taken 
up  towards  Monticello,  Gen.  Crittenden  having  determined  to 
strike  for  the  Cumberland  at  the  highest  point  where  boats 
could  land  with  safety,  in  order  to  be  in  open  communication 
with  Nashville. 

The  retreat  was  one  of  great  distress.     Many  of  the  troops 


256  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

had  become  demoralized,  and,  -without  order,  dispersed  through 
the  mountain  by-ways  in  the  direction  of  Montjcello.  "  We 
reached  Monticello,"  writes  an  officer  of  one  of  the  regiments 
in  the  retreat,  "  at  night,  and  then  we  were  threatened  with 
starvation — an  enemy  far  more  formidable  than  the  one  we  left 
beyond  the  river.  Since  Saturday  night,  we  had  but  an  hour 
of  sleep,  and  scarcely  a  morsel  of  food.  For  a  whole  week,  we 
have  been  marching  under  a  bare  subsistence,  and  I  have  at 
length  approached  that  point  in  a  soldier's  career  when  a  hand- 
ful of  parched  corn  may  bo  considered  a  first-class  dinner.  We 
marched  the  first  few  days  through  a  barren  region,  where  sup- 
plies could  not  be  obtained.  I  have  more  than  once  seen  the 
men  kill  a  porker  with  their  guns,  cut  and  quarter  it,  and  broil 
it  on  the  coals,  and  then  eat  it  without  bread  or  salt.  The 
suffering. of  the  men  from  the  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
of  clothing,  and  of  repose,  has  been  most  intense,  and  a  more 
melancholy  spectacle  than  this  solemn,  hungry,  and  weary 
procession,  could  scarcely  be  imagined." 

The  enemy  invested  the  abandoned  camp  of  the  Confed- 
erates on  the  morning  following  the  day  of  the  battle.  Gen. 
Schoepff's  brigade  had  crossed  the  river  preparatory  to  the 
attack  which  Gen.  Thomas  had  intended  to  make  on  the  en- 
trenchments on  Monday.  Early  in  the  morning,  the  steamer 
used  by  the  Confederates  in  effecting  their  retreat  was  dis- 
covered lying  in  the  river,  and  was  burnt  by  the  shells  of  the 
enemy.  They  congratulated  themselves  that  they  had  cut  off 
the  last  hope  of  the  escape  of  "  the  rebels."  Long  columns  of 
troops  filed  away,  and  the  artillery  commenced  to  play  on  the 
entrenchments,  in  doubt  for  a  moment  whether  their  guns  were 
replied  to  or  not,  when  word  came  that  the  entrenchments  were 
abandoned.  As  the  enemy  marched  into  the  camp  there  was 
hardly  a  cheer.  They  had  hoped  to  capture  every  man  of  the 
Confederates,  and  were  bitterly  disappointed.  They  secured, 
however,  a  rich  spoil  of  victory — everything  in  fact  that  made 
our  poor  solders  an  army.  Tire  property  captured  was  of 
considerable  value.     It  consisted  of  eight  six-pounders  and  two 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  257 

Parrott  guns,  with  caissons  filled  -with  ammunition,  about  100 
four-horse  -wagons,  and  upwards  of  1,200  horses  and  mules, 
several  boxes  of  arms  ■which  had  never  been  opened,  and  from 
500  to  1,000  muskets. 

The  death  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer  was  deeply  lamented  by  his 
countrymen.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  death  of  any  man  of 
the  present  generation  ever  produced  such  conspicuous  grief 
among  Tennesseeans.  He  was  a  man  made  of  stern  stuff,  and 
possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  confidence  of  his  army  and 
of  the  Tennessee  people.  lie  was  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
the  South,  and,  during  a  long  career  in  .Congress,  was  one  of 
the  few  members  of  the  Whig  party  who  voted  uniformly  with 
Southern  men  on  all  questions  involving  her  honor  and  wel- 
fare. Made  a  brigadier-general,  he  was  assigned  to  the  depart- 
ment of  East  Tennessee  at  an  early  period  of  the  war,  and  had 
exhibited  rare  address  and  genuine  courage  and  military  talents 
in  the  administration  of  his  responsible  command.  It  was  a 
melancholy  mode  which  his  army  chose  of  testifying  their  ap- 
preciation of  his  ability  as  a  commander,  in  giving  up  all  for 
lost  when  he  was  shot  down  ;  but  it  certainly  afforded  a  marked 
testimony  of  their  confidence  in  his  generalship. 

The  body  of  General  Zollicoffer  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  His  remains  were  treated  by  them  with  unusual  re- 
spect. One  of  their  officers,  who  had  known  him  in  Washing- 
ton, asked  to  be  permitted  to  see  the  corpse.  A  pistol  shot 
had  struck  him  in  the  breast,  a  little  above  the  heart.  His 
face  bore  no  expression  such'  as  is  usually  found  upon  those 
who  fall  in  battle — no  malice,  no  reckless  hate,  not  even  a 
shadow  of  physical  pain.  It  was  calm,  placid,  noble.  "  Poor 
fellew,"  wrote  the  officer  who  visited  with  respect  his  remains 
just  after  the  battle,  "  I  have  never  looked  on  a  countenance 
so  marked  with  sadness.  A  deep  dejection  had  settled  on  it. 
4  The  low  cares  of  the  mouth'  were  distinct  in  the  droop  at  its 
.  corners,  and  the  thin  cheeks  showed  the  wasting  which  comes 
through  disappointment  and  trouble." 

The  reverse  sustained  by  our  arms  in  Southern  Kentucky 
17 


258  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

involved  no  important  military  consequences  ;  and  the  govern- 
ment at  Richmond  found  cause  of  congratulation  in  the  cir- 
cumstance that,  if  a  defeat  must  needs  have  happened  to  it  at 
this  time,  it  could  not  have  come'  upon  it  at  a  point  of  less  com- 
parative consequence  than  the  battle-ground  near  Somerset, 
Kentucky.  It  was  a  hundred  miles  from  the  line  of  railroad 
connecting  us  with  the  great  West ;  it  was  a  still  greater  dis- 
tance from  Cumberland  Gap,  the  nearest  point  of  the  Virginia 
line  ;  and  there  intervened  on  the  road  to  Knoxville,  rivers  and 
mountain  passes,  which  an  invading  army  could  only  traverse 
slowly  and  with  great  caution. 

But  a  disaster  to  our  arms  was  shortly  to  ensue,  of  the  im- 
portance and  gravity  of  which  there  could  be  no  doubt,  and 
with  respect  to  which  the  government  could  find  neither  conso- 
lations nor  excuses.  While  we  have  seen  how  matters  stood  on 
the  Potomac  in  the  opening  of  the  year  1862,  and  what  omin- 
ous indications  had  taken  place  in  the  West,  we  must  now  re- 
move the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  seacoast,  where,  along 
the  low  and  melancholy  scenery  of  the  sea-border  of  North 
Carolina,  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  dramas  of  the  war 
was  to^be  enacted. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   ROANOKE    ISLAND. 

f 

On  the  21st  of  December,  that  part  of  North  Carolina  east 
of  the  Chowan  River,  together  with  the  counties  of  Washington 
and  Tyrrell,  wap,  at  the  request  of  the  proper  authorities  of 
North  Carolina,  separated  from  the  remainder,  and  constituted 
into  a  military  district,  under  Brigadier-General  H.  A.  Wise, 
and  attached  to  the  command  of  Major-General  Huger,  com- 
manding the  department  of  Norfolk. 

Immediately  upon  the  secession  of  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina from  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution^  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
the  authorities  of  that  State  commenced  the  construction  of. 
fortifications  at  Hatteras  and  Oregon  Inlets,  and  other  points 
upon  her  coast  which  were  not  completed,  when  the  State 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  £59 

transferred  her  forts,  arsenals,  army,  navy  and  coast  defences 
to  the  Confederate  government.  Shortly  thereafter  the  attack 
was  made  upon  Forts  Hatteras  and  Clarke,  and  they  were 
taken,  and  the  fortifications  at  Oregon  Inlet  were  abandoned, 
and  the  armament,  stores  and  ammunition  were  removed  to 
Roanoke  Island.  The  enemy  immediately  appeared  in  force 
in  Pamlico  Sound,  the  waters  of  which  are  connected  with  Al- 
bemarle and  Currituck  Sounds  by  means  of  the  two  smaller 
Sounds  of  Croatan  and  Roanoke.  The  Island  of  Roanoke 
being  situated  between  these  two  latter  sounds,  commanding  the 
channels  of  each,  became,  upon  the  fall  of  Hatteras  and  the 
abandonment  of  Oregon  Inlet,  only  second  in  importance  to 
Fortress  Monroe.  The  island  then  became  the  key  which 
unlocked  all  Northeastern  North  Carolina  to  the  enemy,  and 
exposed  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk  ,to  a  rear  approach  of  the 
most  imminent  danger. 

Such  was  the  importance  of  Roanoke  Island.  It  was  threat- 
ened by  one  of  the,  most- formidable  naval  armaments  yet  fitted 
out  by  the  North,  put  under*  the  command  of  Gen.  Burnside, 
of  Rhode  Island.  It  might  have  been  placed  in  a  state  of  de- 
fence against  any  reasonable  force,  with  the  expenditure  of 
money  and  labor  supposed  to  be  -within  the  means  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Ample  time  and  the  fullest  forewarnings  were  given 
to  the  government  for  the  construction  of  defences,  since,  for  a 
full  month,  Gen.  Wise  had  represented  to  the  government, 
with  the  most  obvious  and  emphatic  demonstrations,  that  the 
defences  of  the  island  were  -wholly  inadequate  for  its  protec- 
tion from  an  attack  either  by  land  or  water. 

The  military  defences  of  Roanoke  Island  and  its  adjacent 
waters  on  the  8th  of  February,  the  day  of  its  surrender,  con- 
sisted of  three  sand  forts,  a  battery  of  two  32-pounders,  and  a  re- 
doubt thrown  across  the  road  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  about 
seventy  or  eighty  feet  long,  on  the  right  of  which  was  a  swamp, 
on  the  left  a  marsh.  In  addition  to  these  defences  on  the 
shore  and  on  the  island,  there  was  a  barrier  of  piles,  extending 
from  the  east  side  of  Fulker  Shoals,  towar,ds  the  island.     Its 


260  THE   FIRST   YEAK    OF   THE   WAR. 

object  was  to  compel  vessels  passing  on  the  west  of  the  island 
to  approach  "within  reach  of  the  shore  batteries ;  but  up  to  the 
8th  of  February,  there  was  a  span  of  1,700  yards  open  opposite 
to  Fort  Bartow,  the  most  southern  of  the  defences,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  island. 

The  entire  military  forae  stationed  upon  the  island  prior  to, 
and  at  the  time  of,  the  late  engagement,  consisted  of  the  8th 
regiment  of  North  Carolina  State  troops,  under  the  command 
of  Col.  H.  M.  Shaw;  the  31st  regiment  of  North  Carolina 
volunteers,  under  the  command  of  Col.  J.  V.  Jordan,  and  three 
companies  of  the  17th  North  Carolina  troops,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  G.  H.  Hill.  After  manning  the  several  forts, ' 
on  the  7th  of  February,  there  were  but  one  thousand  and 
twenty-four  men  left,  and  two  hundred  of  them  were  upon  the 
sick  list.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  February,  Brig.  Gen. 
Wise  sent  from  Nagg's  Head,  under  the  command  of  Lieut. 
Col.  Anderson,  a  reinforcement,  numbering  some  four  hundred 
and  fifty  men.  The  whole  force  was  under  the  command  of 
Brig.  Gen.  Wise,  who,  upon  the  7th  and  8th  of  February,  was 
at  Nagg's  Head,  four  miles  distant  from  the  island,  confined 
to  a  sick  bed,  anjl  entirely  disabled  from  participating  in  the 
action  in  person.  The  immediate  command,  therefore,  devolved 
upon  Col.  H.  M.  Shaw,  the  senior  officer  present. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  February,  the  enemy's  fleet 
proceeded  steadily  towards  Fort  Bartow.  In  the  sound  be- 
tween Koanoke  Island  and  the  main  land,  upon  the  Tyrrell 
side,  Commodore  Lynch,  with  his  squadron,  of  seven  vessels, 
had  taken  position,' and  at  eleven  o'clock  the  enemy's  fleet, 
consisting  of  about  thirty  gun-boats  and  schooners,  advanced 
in  ten  divisions,  the  rear  one  having  the  schooners  and  trans- 
ports in  tow.  The  advance  and  attacking  division  again  sub- 
divided, one  assailing  the  squadron  and  the  other  firing  upon 
the  fort  with  ninesinch,  ten-inch  and  eleven-inch  shell,  spheri- 
cal case,  a  few  round  shot,  and  every  variety  of  rifled  projec- 
tiles. The  fort  replied  with  but  four  guns,  (which  were  all 
that  could  be  brought  to  bear,)  and  after  striking  the  foremost 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  261 

vessels  several  times,  the  fleet  fell  back,  so  as  to  mask  one  of 
the  guns  of  the  fort,  leaving  but  three  to  reply  to  the  fire  of 
the  whole  fleet.  The  bombardment  was  continued  throughout 
the  day,  and  the  enemy  retired  at  dark.  The  squadron,  under, 
the  command  of  Commodore  Lynch,  sustained  their  position 
most  gallantly,  and  only  retired  after  exhausting  all  their  am- 
munition, and  having  lost  the  steamer  Curlew  and  the  Forest 
disabled. 

In  the  meantime,  the  enemy  had  found  a  point  of  landing 
out  of  the  reach  of  our  field  pieces,  and  defended  by  a  swamp 
from  the  advance  of  our  infantry.  The  enemy  having  effected 
a  landing  here,  our  whole  force  took  position  at  the  redoubt  or 
breastwork,  and  placed  in  battery  their  field-pieces  with  neces- 
sary artillerymen,  under  the  respective  commands  of  Captain 
Schemerhorn,  and  Lieutenants  Kinney  and  Seldon.  Two  com- 
panies of  the  Eighth  and  two  of  the  Thirty-first  were  placed  at 
the  redoubt  to  support  the  artillery.  Three  companies  of  the 
Wise  Legion,  deployed  to  the  right  and  left  as  skirmishers. 
The  remainder  of  the  infantry  were  in  position,  three  hundred 
yards  in  the  rear  of  the  redoubt,  as  a  reserve. 

The  enemy  landed  some  fifteen  thousand  men,  with  artillery, 
and  at  7  o'clock,  A.  M.,  of  the  8th,  opened  fire  upon  the  re- 
doubt, which  was  replied  to  immediately  with  great  spirit,  and 
the  action  soon  became  general,  and  was  continued  without  in- 
termission for  more  than  five  hours,  when  the  enemy  succeeded 
in  deploying  a  large  force  on  either  side  of  our  line,  flanking 
each  wing.  The  order  was  then  given  by  Col.  Shaw  to  spike 
the  guns  in  the  battery,  and  to  retreat  to  the  northern  end  of 
the  island.  The  guns  were  spiked,  and  the  whole  force  fell 
back  to  the  camps. 

During  the  engagement  at  the  redoubt,  the  enemy's  fleet 
attempted  to  advance  to  Croatan  Sound,  which  brought  on  a 
desultory  engagement  between  Fort  Bartow  and  the  fleet, 
which  continued  up  to  half-after  12  o'clock,  when  the  com- 
manding officer  was  informed  that  the  land  defences  had  been 
forced,  and   the   position   of  the  fort  turned;   he  thereupon 


262  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

ordered  the  guns  to  be  disabled  and. the  ammunition  destroyed, 
which  was  done,  and  the  fort  abandoned.  The  same  thing 
was  done  at  the  other  forts,  and  the  forces  from  all  the  forts 
.were  marched  in  good  order  to  the  camp.  The  enemy  took 
possession  of  the  redoubts  and  forts  immediately,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  pursuit,  with  great  caution,  towards  the  northern 
end  of  the  island  in  force,  deploying  so  as  to  surround  our 
forces  at  the  camps. 

Col.  Shaw  had  arrived  with  his  whole  force  at  his  camp  in 
time  to  have  saved  his  whole  command,  if  transports  had  been 
furnished.  But  there  were  none.  His  situation  was  one  of 
extreme  exigency.  He  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  greatly 
superiour  force  upon  the  open  island ;  he  had  no  field  works  to 
protect  him;  he  had  lost  his  only  three  field-pieces  at  the  re- 
doubt; and  he  had  either  to  make  an  idle  display  of  courage 
in  fighting  the  foe  at  such  immense  disadvantage,  which  would 
have  involved  the  sacrifice  of  his  command,  or  to  capitulate 
and  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war.  He  determined  upon  the 
latter  alternative. 

The  loss  on  our  side  was :  killed,  23  ;  wounded,  58  ;  missing? 
62.  Our  mortality  list,  however,  was  no  indication  of  the 
spirit  and  vigour  of  our  little  army,  as  in  its  position  it  had 
but  little  opportunity  of  contest  without  a  useless  sacrifice  of 
human  life  on  their  side.  Among  the  killed  was  Captain  0. 
Jennings  Wise,  of  the  Richmond  Blues,  son  of  General  Wise, 
a  young  man  of  brilliant  promise,  refined  chivalry,  and  a  cour- 
age to  which  the  softness  of  his  manners  and  modesty  of  his 
behaviour  added  the  virtue  of  knightly  heroism.  His  body, 
pierced  by  wounds,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  in  whose 
camp,  attended  by  every  mark  of  respect,  he  expired:  The 
disaster  at  Roanoke  Island  was  a  sharp  mortification  to  the 
public.  But  for  the  unfortunate  general,  who  was  compelled 
to  hear  on  a  sick  bed — perhaps  to  witness  from  the  windows  of 
a  sick  chamber — the  destruction  of  his  army  and  the  death  of 
his  son,  there  was  not  a  word  of  blame. 

In  a  message  to  Congress,  President  Davis  referred  to  the 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  263 

result  of  the  battle  at  Roanoke  Island  as  "  deeply  humiliat- 
ing ":  a  committee  of  Congress,  appointed  to  investigate  the 
•affair,  resented  the  attempt  to  attribute  a  disaster,  for  which 
the -government  itself  was  notoriously  responsible,  to  want  of 
spirit  in  our  troops ;  declared  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  battle 
of  Roanoke  Island  was  "  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  brilliant 
actions  of  the  war ;"  and  concluded  that  whatever  of  blame 
and  responsibility  was  justly  attributable  to  any  one  for  the 
defeat,  should  attach  to  Gen:  Huger,  in  whose  military  depart- 
ment the  island  was,  and  to  the  Secretary  of  "War,  Judah  P. 
Benjamin,  whose  positive  refusal  to  put  the  island  in  a  state  of 
defence  secured  its.  fall.  There  was,  in  fact,  but  little  room 
for  the  government  to  throw  reflection  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
troops.  In  the  language  of  their  commanding  general,  "  both 
officers  and  men  fought  jirmly,  coolly,  efficiently,  and  as  long 
as  humanity  would  allow." 

The  connection  of  the  War  Department  with  the  Roanoke 
Island  affair,  which  was  with  diffiulty  dragged  to  light  in  Con- 
gress, is  decidedly  one  of  the  most  curious  portions  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  war.  Gen.  Wise  had  pressed  upon  the  government 
the  importance  of  Roanoke  Island*  for  the  defence  of  Norfolk. 
He  assumed  the  command  of  the  post  upon  the  7th  of  January. 
In  making  a  rcconnoissance  of  the  island  and  its  defencqs,  on 
the  13th  January,  he  addressed  Secretary  Benjamin,  and  de- 

*  "It  [Roanoke  Island,]  was  the  key  to  all  the  rear  defences  of  Norfolk.  It 
•unlocked  two  sounds,  Albemarle  and  Currituck;  eight  rivers,  the  North, 
West,  Pasquotank,  the  Perquiinmons,  the  Little^  the  Chowan,  the  Roanoke, 
and  the  Alligator:  four  canals,  the  Albemarle  and  Chesapeake,  the  Dismal 
Swamp,  the  Northwest  Canal  and-  the  Suffolk  ;  two  railroads,  the  Petersburg 
and  Norfolk,  and  the  Seaboard  and  Roanoke.  It  guarded  more  than  four- 
fifths  of  all  Norfolk's  supplies  of  corn,  pork  and  forage,  and  it  cut  the  com- 
mand of  General  Huger  off  from  all  its  most  efficient  transportation.  It 
endangers  the  subsistence  of  his  whole  army,  threatens  the  navy-yard  at  Gos- 
port,  and  to  cut  off  Norfolk  from  Richmond,  and  both  from  railroad  commu- 
nication with  the  South.  It  lodges  the  enemy  in  a  safe  harbour  from  the 
storms  of  Hatteras,  gives  them  a  rendezvous  and  large,  rich  range  of  sup- 
plies, and  the  command  of  the  Seaboard  from  Oregon  Inlet  to  Cape  Henry. 
It  should  have  been  defended  at  the  expense  of  twenty  thousand  men,  and  of 
many  millions  of  dollars." — Report  of  Gen.  Wise. 


264  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

clarecl  that  the  island,  which  was  the  key  of  all  the  rear  de- 
fences of  Norfolk  and  its  canals  and  railroads,  was  "utterly 
defenceless./'  On  the  15th  of  January,  Gen.  Wise  addressed* 
the  Secretary  again.  He  wrote  that  twenty-four  vessels  of 
the  enemy's  fleet  were  .already  inside  of  Hatteras  Inlet,  and 
within  thirty  miles  of  Roanoke  Island ;  that  all  there  was  to 
oppose  him  was  five  small  gun-boats  and  four  small  land  bat- 
teries, wholly  inefficient;  that  our  batteries  were  not  case- 
mated  ;  and  that  the  force  at  Hatteras,  independent  of  the 
Burnside  expedition,  was  "  amply  sufficient  to  capture  or  pass 
Roanoke  Island  in  any  twelve  hours." 

These  written  appeals  for  aid  in  the  defences  of  the  island 
were  neglected  and  treated  with  indifference.  Determined  to 
leave  nothing  wanting  in  energy  of  address,  General  Wise  re- 
paired in  person  to  Richmond,  and  cajled  upon  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  urged,  in  the  most  importunate  manner,  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  strengthening  the  defences  upon  that  island 
with  additional  men,  armament  and  ammunition.  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin replied  verbally  to  his  appeals  for  reinforcements,  that 
he  had  not  the  men  to  spare  for  his  command.  General  Wise 
urged  upon  the  Secretary  that  Gen.'  Huger  had  about  15,000 
men  in  front  of  Norfolk,  lying  idle  in  camp  for  eight  months, 
and  .that  a  considerable  portion  of  them  could  be  spared  for 
the  defence  of  the  rear  of  Norfolk,  and  especially  as  his  (Gen. 
Wise's)  district  supplied  Norfolk  and  his  army  with'  nearly  or 
quite  all  of  his  corn,  pork  and  forage. 

The  reply  to  all  these  striking  and  urgent  appeals  was  a  pe- 
remptory military  order  from  Secretary  Benjamin,  dated  the 
22d  of  January,  requiring  Gen.  Wise  to  proceed  immediately  to 
Roanoke  Island.  With  ready  military  pride  the  unfortunate 
general  received  the  orders,  without  a  murmur  in  public ;  it  being 
known  only  to  his  most  intimate  friends  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  left  Richmond  on  the  stern  and  unpropitious  mission 
which  promised  nothing  to  himself  but  disaster,  the  mistaken 
calumnies  of  the  public,  and  death  in  the  midst  of  defeat. 

The  facts  we  have  referred  to  are  of  record.     The  committee 


'  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  265 

of  Congress  that  investigated  the  affair  of  Roanoke  Island  de- 
clared that  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  J.  P.  Benjamin,  was 
responsible  for  an  important  defeat  of  our  arms,  "which  might 
have  been  safely  avoided  by  him ;  that  he  had  paid  no  prac- 
tical attention  to  the  appeals  of  Gen.  "Wise;  and  that  he  had, 
by  plain  acts  of  omission,  permitted  that  general  and  an  incon- 
siderable force  to  remain  to  meet  at  least  fifteen  thousand  men 
well  armed  and  equipped.  The  committee  referred  to  was 
open  to  any  justification  that  might  have  been  sought  by  the 
Secretai'y  of  War  or  his  friends ;  none  was  offered ;  and  the 
unanimous  conclusion  of  the  committee,  in  sharp  and  distinct 
terms,  was  put  upon  the  public  record,  charging  a  Cabinet 
officer  with  a  matter  of  the  gravest  offence  known  to  the  laws 
and  the  interests  of  the  country. 

The  effect  of  war  is  always,  in  some  degree,  public  demorali- 
zation ;  and  the  gravest  charges  are  often  lost  and  swallowed 
up  in  the  quick  and  feverish  excitements  of  such  times.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  the  charities  of  speedy  oblivion  with 
respect  to  the  charges  against  Mr.  Benjamin,  the  public  were, 
at  least,  not  prepared  for  such  an  exhibition  of  trust  and 
honour  as  was  given  him  by  the  President,  in  actually  pro- 
moting him,  after  the  developments  of  the  Roanoke  Island 
disaster,  and  giving  him  the  place  in  his  Cabinet  of  Secretary 
of  State.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  merits  of  this  act  of 
the  President,  it  was  at  least  one  of  ungracious  and  reck- 
less defiance  to  the  popular*  sentiment ;  and  from  the  marked 
event  of  the  surrender  of  Roanoke  Island  and  its  conse- 
quences, we  must  date  the  period  when  the  people  and  their 
confidence  weakened  in  the  government,  and  found  no  other 
repose  for  their  trust  than  in  the  undiminished  valour  and  de- 
voted patriotism  of  the  troops  in  the  field. 


2G6  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Situation  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky... The  Affair  at  Woodsonville... 
Death  of  Colonel  Terry. ..The  Strength  and  Material  of  the  Federal  Force  in 
Kentucky. ..Condition  of  the  Defences  on  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland 
Rivers. ..The  Confederate  Congress  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. ..The  Fall 
of  Fort  Henry — Fort  Donelson  Threatened. ..The  Army  of  General  A.  S.  John- 
ston...His  Interview  with  General  Beauregard. ..Insensibility  of  the  Confede- 
rate  Government  to  the  Exigency. ..General  Johnston's  Plan  of  Action... 
Battle  of  Fort  Donelson. ..Carnage  and  Scenery  of  the  Battle  Field... The 
Council  of  the  Southern  Commanders...  Agreement  to  Surrender... Escape  of 
Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow. ..The  Fall  of  Fort  Donelson  Developes  the  Crisis 
in  the  West. ..The  Evacuation  of  Nashville. ..The  Panic. ..Extraordinary 
Scenes. ..Experience  of  the  Enemy  in  NaSville...The  Adventures  of  Captain 
John  Morgan. ..General  Johnston  at  Murfreesboro'... Organization  of  a  New 
Line  of  Defence  South  of  Nashville. ..The  Defence  of  Memphis  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi...Island  No.  10. ..Serious  Character  of  the  Disaster  at  Donelson... 
Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow  "Relieved  from  Command  "...General  Johnston's 
Testimony  in  Favour  of  These  Officers. ..President  Davis'  Punctilio. ..A  Sharp 
Contrast. ..Negotiation  for  the  Exchange  of  Prisoners.. .A  Lesson  of  Yankee 
Perfidy. ..Mr.  Benjamin's  Release  of  Yankee  Hostages. 

The  unequivocal  demonstrations  of  the  Federals  for  an  ad- 
vance upon  Tennessee  through  Kentucky,  urged  the  Confed- 
erate government  to  send  all  the  disposable  forces  at  its  com- 
mand to  strengthen  the  army  of'  thj3  Southwestern  division. 
Near  the  close  of  the  year  1861,  the  Floyd  Brigade  and  several 
regiments  belonging  to  Tennessee  and  other  Confederate  States 
were  sent  from  Virginia  to  Bowling  Green,  in  Southern  Ken- 
tucky, the  principal  strategic  point  of  the  Southwestern  army. 
The  command  of  that  army  was  given,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston. 

Early  in  December,'  the  Federal  army  occupied  Muldraugh's 
Hill,  Elizabethtown,  Nolin,  Bacon's  Creek  and  other  points  on 
the  railroad,  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  below  Louisville.  Later 
in  that  month,  a 'body  of  them  advanced  to  Munfordville,  on 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  267 

Green  River,  about  seventy-five  miles  below  Louisville,  and 
about  thirty-five  miles  above  Bowling  Green.  A  portion  of 
this  advance  crossed  the  river  at  Munfordville  to  Woodsonville 
on  the  opposite  shore,  where  they  were  attacked  by  the  advance 
Confederate  forces  under  Brig.  Gen.  Hindman  and  defeated, 
with  a  loss  of  about  fifty  killed.  The  Confederates  lost  four 
killed  and  nine  wounded.  Their  conduct  was  marked  by  the 
most  impetuous  valour.  On  charging  the  enemy,  Col.  Terry, 
of  the  Texas  Rangers,  was  killed  in  the  moment  of  victory. 
In  the  death  of  Col.  Terry,  said  General  Hardee,  in  his  official 
report,  "  his  regiment  had  to  deplore  the  loss  of  a  beloved 
and  brave  commander  and  the  whole  army  one  of  its  ablest 
officers."  His  name  was  placed  in  the  front  rank  of  the  gal- 
lant sons  of  Texas,  whose  daring  and  devoted  courage  had 
added  to  the  lustre  of  our  arms* and  to  the  fruits  of  more  than 
one  victory. 

The  fight  at  Woodsonville  was  on  the  17th  of  December. 
When  the  enemy  reached' that  place  in  force,  the  Confederates 
fell  back  some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  in  the  direction  of  Bow- 
ling Green.  For  some  weeks  thereafter,  the  whole  South  was 
excited  with  reports  to  the  effect,  that  the  Federals  were  ad- 
vancing upon  Bowling  Green  in  three  columns,  of  20,000  each. 
But  the  unanticipated  success  of  the  Federals  in  two  important 
movements  at  other  points  within  the  department  of  General 
Johnston,  enabled  them  to  accomplish  their  object  without  an 
attack  upon  Bowling  Green,  and  forced  upon  the  Confederates 
the  necessity  of  evacuating  that  post. 

The  North  had  collected  an  immense  army  in  Kentucky, 
under  command  of  Major-Generel  Buell,  a  general  of  great 
skill,  remarkable  for  the  caution  of  his  operations,  but  having 
with  this  quality  the  rare  combination  of  energy,  courage  and 
unwearied  activity.  The  whole  force  of  the  Federals  in  Ken- 
tucky consisted  of  about  One  hundred  thousand  infantry,  eleven 
thousand  cavalry,  and  three  thousand'  artillerists,  divided  into 
some  twenty  odd  batteries.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  immense 
army  was  composed  almost  entirely  of  Western  men,  and  that 


268  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

the  "Yankee"  proper  was  scarcely  represented  in  its  ranks. 
Of  the  Eastern  States  only  Pennsylvania  had  troops  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  those  comparatively  few.  Every  Western  State, 
with  the  exception  of  Iowa,  Missouri  and  Kansas  was  repre- 
sented by  more  or  less  regiments. 

A  large  force  of  the  Federals  had  been  collected  at  Paducah, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  River,  with  a  view  to  offensive 
operations  on  the  water.  This  river  was  an  important  stream. 
It  penetrated  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  and  was  navigable  for 
steamers  for  two  or  three  hundred  miles.  The  Provisional 
Congress,  at  Richmond,  had  appropriated  half  a  million  dol- 
lars for  floating  defences  on  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland 
Rivers ;  but  owing  to  the  notorious  inefficiency  of  the  Navy 
Department,  presided  over  by  Mr.  Mallory,  of  Florida,  who 
was  remarkable  for  his  obtuseriess,  slow  methods  and  indiffer- 
ent intellect,  and  whose  ignorance  even  of  the  geography  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  had  been  broadly  travestied  in  Con- 
gress, both  rivers  were  left  open  to  the  incursions  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  Tennessee  there  was  nothing  to  resist  the 
enemy's  advance  up  the  stream  but  a  weak  and  imperfectly 
constructed  fort.  The  Cumberland  was  a  still  more  important 
river  and  the  key  to  Nashville  ;  but  nothing  stood  in  the  way 
of  the  enemy  save  Fort  Donelson,  and  from  that  point  the 
Federal  gun-boats  could  reach  Nashville  in  six  or  eight  hours, 
and  strike  a  vital  point  of  our  whole  system  of  defences  in  the 
West. 

On  the  4th  of  February,  the  enemy's  expedition  up  the 
Tennessee,  under  Gen.  Grant,  arrived  at  Fort  Henry,  the  only 
fortification  on  the  Tennessee  River  of  any.  importance,  situ- 
ated near  the  lines  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  stream.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  the  fort  was 
attacked. 

Our  works  were  untenable,  but  it  concerned  us  to  save  our 
little  army.     To   defend  the  position  at  the  time,  Gen.   Tilgh-. 
man,  commanding  division,  had  Col.  Heiman's  10th  Tennessee, 
Irish  volunteers,  eight  hundred  strong;  Col.  Drake's  Missis- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.       ,  269 

slppi  volunteers,  four  hundred  strong ;  Col.  Hughes'  Alabama 
volunteers,  five  hundred  strong  ;  and  Lieut.  Col.  Gantt's  Ten- 
nessee volunteers',  cavalry,  three  hundred  strong;  one  company 
of  light  artillery,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Culbertson,  Confed- 
erates States  artillery,  and  Capt.  Jesse  Taylor's  company  of 
artillery,  sixty  strong,  forming  the  garrison  of  Fort  Henry, 
and.manning  its  batteries  of  nine  or  ten  guns. 

A  sudden  rise  in  the  river  found  Fort  Henry,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  attack,  completely  surrounded  by  water,  containing 
only  'Capt.  Taylor's  company  of  artillery.  The  two  thousand 
men  of  all  arms,  "who  formed  Gen.  Tilghman's  command,  were 
half  a  mile  off,  beyond  a  sheet  of  back-water.  Gen.  Grant's 
army  "was  on  the  direct  road,  between  them  and  Fort  Donel- 
son,  on  the  Cumberland,  and  within  two  miles  of  the  fort,  and 
already  in  motion  to  invest  it.  It  was  an  embarrassing  ques- 
tion to  determine  what  was  to  be  done.  Gen.  Tilghman's  little 
army  was  in  the  jaws  of  the  lion,  and  the  question  was,  how 
could  it  be  extricated. 

Gen.  Tilghman  at  once  solved  the  problem,  by  ordering  it  to 
retreat  by  the  upper  route.  He  remained  with  his  sixty  men 
in  the  fort,  where  he  was  surrounded  by  water,  and  unable  to 
get  away. 

v  A  few  minutes  before  the  surrender,  the  scene  in  and  around 
the  fort  exhibited  a  spectable  of  fierce  grandeur.  Many  of  the 
cabins  and  tents  in  and  around  the  fort  were  in  flames ;  added 
to  the  scene  were  the  smoke  from  the  burning  timber,  and  the 
curling  but  dense  wreaths  of  smoke  from  the  guns ;  the  con- 
stantly recurring  spattering  and  whizzing  of  fragments  of 
crashing  and  bursting  shells  ;  the  deafening  roar  of  artillery ; 
the  black  sides  of  five  or  six  gun-boats,  belching  fire -at  every 
port-hole ;  the  volumes  of  smoke  settled  in  dense  masses  along 
the  surrounding  back-waters ;  and  up  and  over  that  fog,  on  the 
heights,  the  army  of  Gen.  Grant  (10,000)  deploying  around 
our  small  army,  attempting  to  cut  off  its  retreat.  In  the  midst 
of  the  storm  of  shot  and  shelly  the  small  force  outside  of  the 
fort  had  succeeded  in  gaining  the  upper  road,  the  gun-boats 


270  .      THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

having  failed  to  notice  their  movements  until  they  were  out  of 
reach. 

To  give  them  further  time,  the  gallant  Tilghman,  exhausted 
and  begrimmed  with  powder  and  smoke,  stood  erect  at  the 
middle  battery,  and  pointed  gun  after  gun.  It  was  clear,  how- 
ever, that  the  fort  could  not  hold  out  much  longer.  A  white 
flag  was  raised  by  the  order  of  Gen.  Tilghman,  who  remarked, 
"  it  is  vain  to  fight  longer  ;  our  gunners  are  disabled  ;  our  guns 
dismounted;  we  can't  hold  out  five  minutes  longer."  As  soon 
as  the  token  of  submission  was  hoisted,  the  gun-boats  'came 
alongside  the  fort,  and  took  possession  of  it,  their  crews  giving 
three  cheers  for  the  Union.  Gen.  Tilghman  and  the  small 
garrison  of  forty  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Henry  was  the  signal  for  the  direction  of 
the  most  anxious  attention  to  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  Cum- 
berland. 

We  have  noticed  before  the  extreme  inadequacy  of  Gen.  John- 
*  ston's  forces.  •  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  ever  had  over  23,000 
effective  troops  at  Bowling  Green.  Of  these,  after  reinforcing 
Fort  Donelson,  he  had  scarcely  more  than  eleven  thousand 
effective  men.  Shortly  after  the  disaster  at  Mill  Springs,  Gen. 
Beauregard  had  been  sent  from  the  Potomac  to  Gen.  Johnston's 
line  in  Kentucky.  At  a  conference  which  took  place  between, 
the  two  generals,  Gen.  Beauregard  expressed  his  surprise  at 
the  smallness  of  Gen.  Johnston's  forces,  and  was  impressed 
with  the  danger  of  his  position.  There  is  nothing  more  re- 
markable in  the  history  of  the  war  than  the  false  impressions 
of  the  people  of  the  South  as  to  the  extent  of  our  forces  at  the 
principal  strategic  point  in  Kentucky,  and  the  long  and  apa- 
thetic toleration,  by  the  government  in  Richmond,  of  a  pros- 
pect that  promised  nothing  but  eventual  disaster.  On  estab- 
lishing himself  in  Bowling  Gfeen  early  in  October,  General 
Johnston  wrote  to  the  War  Department :  "  We  have  received 
but  little  accession  to  our  ranks  since  the  Confederate  forces 
crossed  the  line — in  fact,  no  such  enthusiastic  demonstration 
as  to  justify  any  movements  not  warranted  by  our  ability  to 


THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  271 

maintain  our  own  communications."  He  repeatedly  called 
upon  the  government  for  reinforcements.  He  made  a  call 
upon  several  States  of  the  Southwest,  including  Tennessee,  for 
large  numbers  of  troops.  The  call  was  revoked  at  the  instance 
of  the  authorities  in  Richmond,  who  declined  to  furnish  twelve 
months'  volunteers  with  arms ;  and  Gen.  Johnston,  thus  dis- 
couraged and  baffled  by  a  government  which  was  friendly 
.enough  to  him  personally,  but  insensible  to  the  public  exigency 
for  which  he  pleaded,  was  left  in  the  situation  of  imminent 
peril,  in  which  Gen.  Beauregard  was  so  surprised  to  find  him. 

A  memorandum  was  made  of  the  conference  between  the 
two  generals.  In  the  plans  of  Gen.  Johnston,  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard entirely  concurred.  It  was  determined  to  fight  for  Nash- 
ville at  Donelson,  and  Gen.  Johnston  gave  the  best  part  of  his 
army  to  do  it,  retaining  only  to  cover  his  front  fourteen  thou- 
sand men,  about  three  thousand  of  whom  were  so  enfeebled  by 
recent  sickness  that  they  were  unable  to  march. 

BATTLE    OF    FORT   DONELSON. 

On  the  9th  February,  Gen.  Pillow  had  been  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed to  Fort  Donelson  and  take  command  at  that  place,  which 
it  was  supposed  would  be  an  immediate  object  of  attack  by 
Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  his  combined  land  and  naval  forces. 
No  time  was  lost  in  getting  the  works  in  defensible  condition. 
The  armament  of  the  batteries  consisted  of  thirteen  guns  of 
different  calibres.  The  site  of  the  fortification  was  plainly  un- 
favourable in  view  of  a  land  attack,  being  commanded  by  the 
heights  above  and  below  the  river,  and  by  a  continuous  range 
of  hills  all  around  the  work  to  its  rear.  A  line  of  entrench- 
ments about  two  miles  in  extent  was  occupied  by  the  troops. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  February,  Gen.  Floyd,  who 
had  been  stationed  at  Russellville,  reached  the  fort  by  orders 
transmitted  by  telegraph  from  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston,  at  Bowling 
Green.  Scon  after  his  arrival,  the  entrenchments  were  fully 
occupied  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  just  as  the  sun  rose 
the  cannonade  from  one  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats  announced 


272  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

the  opening  of  the  conflict,  which  was  destined  to  continue  for 
several  days  and  nights.  The  fire  soon  became  general  along 
our  whole  lines. 

During  the  whole  day  the  enemy  kept  up  a  general  and  ac- 
tive fire  from  all  arms  upon  our  trenches.  At  several  points 
along  the  line  he  charged  with  uncommon  vigour,  but  was  met 
with  a  spirit  of  courageous  resistance,  which  by  nightfall  had 
driven  him,  discomfited  and  cut  to  pieces,  back  upon  the  posi- 
tion he  had  assumed  in  the  morning.  The  results  of  the  day 
were  encouraging.  The  strength  of  our  defensive  line  had 
been  pretty  well  tested,  and  the  loss  sustained  by  our  forces 
was  not  large,  our  men  being  mostly  under  shelter  in  the  rifle 
pits. 

The  enemy  continued  his  fire  upon  different  parts  of  the  en- 
trenchments throughout  the  night,  which  deprived  the  Con- 
federate troops  of  any  opportunity  to  sleep.  They  lay  that 
night  upon  their  arms  in  the  trenches.  A  more  vigorous  at- 
tack from  the  enemy  than  ever  was  confidently  expected  at  the 
dawn  of  day ;  but  in  this  the  Confederates  were  entirely  mis- 
taken. The'  day  advanced,  and  no  preparation  seemed  to  be 
making  for  a  general  onset.  The  smoke  of  a  large  number  of 
gun-boats  and  steamboats  on  the  river  was  observed  a  short  dis- 
tance below,  and  information  at  the  same  time  was  received 
within  our  lines  of  the  arrival  of  a  large  number  of  new  troops, 
greatly  increasing  the  strength  of  the  enemy's  forces,  already 
said  to  be  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  strong. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  enemy's  fleet  of 
gun-boats,  in  full  force,  advanced  upon  the  fort  and  opened  fire. 
TJhey  advanced  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  and  kept  up  a  con- 
stant fire  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  Once  the  boats  reached  a 
point  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  fort.  The  effects  of 
our  shot  upon  the  iron-cased  boats  were  now  distinctly  visible. 
Two  or  three  well-directed  shots  from  the  heavy  guns  of  the 
fort  drove  back  the  nearest  boat ;  several  shot  struck  another 
boat,  tearing  her  iron  case  and  splintering  her  timbers,  and 
making  them  crack  as  if  by  a  stroke  of  lightning,  Tfchen,  she, 


THE   FIRST    TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  273 

too,  fell  back.  A  third  boat  received  several  severe  shocks, 
making  her  metal  ring  and  her  timbers  crack,  when  the  whole 
line  gave  way  and  fell  rapidly  back  from  the  fire  of  the  fort, 
until  they  passed  out  of  range. 

The  incidents  of  the  two  days  had  all  been  in  our  favour. 
We  had  repulsed  the  enemy  in  the  battle  of  the  trenches, 
broken  the  line  of  his  gun-boats,  and  discomfited  him  on  the 
water. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  reinforcements  were  continually 
reaching  the  enemy ;  and  it  might  have  been  evident  from  the 
first  that  the  whole  available  -force  of  the  Federals  on  the 
Western  waters  could  and  would  be  concentrated  at  Fort  Don- 
elson,  if  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  reduce  it.  A  consultation 
of  the  officers  of  divisions  and  brigades  was  called  by  General 
Floyd,  to  take  place  after  dark.  It  was  represented  that  it 
was  an  absolute  impossibility  to  hold  out  for  any  length  of  time 
with  our  inadequate  number  and  indefensible  position;  that 
there  was  no  place  within  our  'entrenchments  but  could  be 
reached  by  the  enemy's  artillery  from  their  boats  or  their  bat- 
teries ;  that  it  was  but  fair  to  infer  that,  whilst  they  kept  up  a 
sufficient  fire  upon  our  entrenchments  to  keep  our  men  from 
sleep  and  prevent  repose,  their  object  was  merely  to  give  time 
to  pass  a  column  above  us  on  the  river,  and  to  cut  off  our  com- 
munications ;  and  that  but  one  course  was  left  by  which  a  ra- 
tional hope  could  be  entertained  of  saving  the  garrison,  and 
that  was  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  his  position  on  our  left, 
and  thus  to  pass  our  troops  into  the  open  country  lying  south- 
ward towards  Nashville. 

It  was  thus  determined  to  remove  from  the  trenches  at  an 
early  hour  the  next  morning,  and- attack  the  enemy  in  his  posi- 
tion. There  was,  in  fact,  no  other  alternative.  The  enemy 
had  been  busy  in  throwing  his  forces  of  every  arm  around  the 
Confederates,  extending  his  line  of  investment  entirely  around 
their  position,  and  completely  enveloping  them.  Every  road 
and  possible  avenue  of  departure  was  intercepted,  with  the 
certainty  that  our  sources  of  supply  by  the  river  would  soon 
18 


274  THE  FIRST   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

be  cut  off  by  the  enemy's  batteries  placed  upon  the  river 
above  us. 

The  sufferings  of  our  army  had  already  been  terrible.  The 
day  of  the  opening  of  the  battle  (Thursday)  was  very  coljL  the 
mercury  being  only  ten  degrees  above  zero,  and  during  the 
night,  •while  our  troops  were  watching  on  their  arms  in  the 
trenches,  it  sleeted  and  snowed.  The  distance  between  the 
two  armies  was  so  slight  that  but  few  of  the  dead  of  either 
could  be  taken  off,  and  many  of  the  wounded  who  could  nei- 
ther walk  nor  crawl  remained  for  more  than  two  days  where 
they  fell.  Some  of  our  men  lay  wounded  before  our  earth-works 
at  night,  calling  for  help  and  water,  and  our  troops  who  went 
out  to  bring  them  in  were  discovered  in  the  moonlight  and 
fired  upon  by  the  enemy.  Many  of  our  wounded  were  not  re- 
covered until  Sunday  morning — some  of  them  still  alive,  but 
blue  with  cold,,  and  covered  with  frost  and  snow.  It  would 
have  been  merciful  if  each  army  had  been  permitted,  under  a 
flag  of  truce,  to  bring  off  its  wounded  at  the  close  of  each  day; 
but  it  was  not  so,  and  they  lay  in  the  frost  and  sleet  between 
the  two  armies. 

For  nearly  a  week  a  large  portion  of  our  troops  had  been 
guarding  their  earth-works,  and  from  the  day  of  the  battle 
they  had  been  out  in  force  night  and  day.  Many  of  them  in 
the  rifle  pits  froze  their  feet  and  hands.  The  severity  of  the 
cold  was  such  that  the  clothes  of  many  of  the  troops  were  so 
stiff  from  frozen  water,  that  could  they  have  been  taken  off, 
they  would  have  stood  alone. 

At  the  meeting  of  general  officers  called  by  Gen.  Floyd  on 
Fridav  night,  it  was  unanimously  determined  to  cut  open  a 
route  of  exit,  and  thus  to  save  our  army.  The  plan  of  attack 
agreed  upon  and  directed  by  Gen.  Floyd,  was  that  Gen.  Pillow, 
assisted  by  Gen.  Bushrod  Johnson,  having  also  under  his  com- 
mand commanders- of  brigades,  Col.  Baldwin,  commanding  Mis- 
sissippi and  Tennessee  troops,  and  Col.  Wharton  and  Col. 
McCausland,  commanding  Virginians,  should,  with  the  main 
body  of  the  forces  defending  our  left  wing,  attack  the  right 


TUB  FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  275 

wing  of  the  enemy  occupying  the  heights  reaching  to  the  bank 
of  the  river;  that  Gen.  Buckner,  with  the  forces  under  his 
command,  and  defending  the  right  of  our  line,  should  strike 
the  enemy's  encampment  on  the  Winn's  Ferry  road ;  and  that 
each  command  should  leave  in  the  trenches  troops  to  hold 
them. 

The  attack  on  the  left  was  delayed,  as  Gen.  Pillow  moved 
out  of  his  position  in  the  morning.  He  found  the  enemy  pre- 
pared to  receive  him  in  advance  of  his  encampment.  For  two 
hours  this  principal  portion  of  the  battle-field  was  hotly  and 
stubbornly  contested,  and  strewn  with  piles  of  dead.  The 
Federal  troops  in  this  quarter  fought  with  a  steadiness  and  de- 
termination rarely  witnessed,  and  the  exhibition  of  their  cour- 
age on  this  field  afforded  a  lesson  to  the  South  of  a  spirit  'that 
it  had  not  expected  in  an  enemy  whose  valour  it  had  been  ac- 
customed to  deride  and  sneer  at  since  the  battle  of  Manassas. 
The  Federals  did  not  retreat,  but  fell  back  fighting  us  and  con- 
testing every  inch  of  ground.  Being  forced  to  yield,  they  re- 
tired slowly  towards  the  Winn's  Ferry  road,  Buckner's  point 
of  attack. 

On  this  road,  where  Gen.  Buckner's  command  was  expected 
to  flank  the  enemy,  it  had  been  forced  to  retire  from  his  bat- 
tery, and  a3  the  enemy  continued  to  fall  back,  Gen.  Buckner's 
troops  became  united  with  the  forces  of  Gen.  Pillow  in  en- 
gaging the  enemy,  who  had  again  been  reinforced.  The  en- 
tire command  of  the  enemy  had  been  forced  to  our  right  wing, 
and  in  front  of  Gen.  Buckner's  position  in  the  entrenchment. 
The  advantage  was  instantly  appreciated.  The  enemy  drove 
back  the  Confederates,  advanced  on  the  trenches  on  the  ex- 
treme right  of  Gen.  Buckner's  command,  getting  possession, 
after  a  stubborn  conflict  of  two  hours,  of  the  most  important 
and  commanding  position  of  the  battle-field,  being  in  the  rear 
of  our  river  batteries,  and,  advancing  with  fresh  forces  towards 
our  left,  drove  back  our  troops  from  the  ground  that  had  been 
won  in  Jthe  severe  and  terrible  conflict  of  the  early  part  of  the 
day. 


276  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

.  The  field  had  been  won  by  the  enemy  after  nine  hours  of 
conflict.  Night  found  him  in  possession  of  all  the  ground  that 
had  been  won  by  our  troops  in  the  morning,  and  occupying  the 
most  commanding  portion  ©f  our  entrenched  work,  to  drive 
him  from  'which  the  most  desperate  assaults  of  our  troops  had 
been  unsuccessful.  The  enemy  had  been  landing  reinforce- 
ments throughout  the  day.  His  numbers  had  been  augmented 
to  eighty-two  regiments.  We  had  only  about  13,000  troops 
all  told.  Of  these  we  had  lost  in  three  different  battles  a  large 
proportion.  The  command  had  been  in  the  trenches  night  and 
day,  exposed  to  the  snow,  sleet,  mud  and  ice-water,  without 
shelter,  without  adequate  covering,  and  without  sleep.  To  re- 
new the  combat,  with  any  hope  of  successful  result,  was  obvi- 
ously vain. 

A  council  of  general  officers  was  called  at  night.  It  was 
suggested  that  a  desperate  onset  upon  the  right  of  the  enemy's 
forces  on  the  ground  might  result  in  the  extrication  of  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  the  command.  A  majority  of  the  coun- 
cil rejected  this  proposition.  Gen.  Buckner  remarked,  that  it 
would  cost  the  command  three-fourths  its  present  numbers  to 
cut  its  way  out,  and  it  was  wrong  to  sacrifice  three-fourths  to 
save  one-fourth ;  that  no  officer  had  a  right  to  cause  such  a 
sacrifice.  The  alternative  of  the  proposition  was  a  surrender 
of  the  position  and  command.  Gen.  Floyd  and  Gen.  Pillow, 
each,  declared  that  they  would  not  surrender  themselves  pri- 
soners. The  former  claimed  that  he  had  a  right  individually 
to  determine  that  he  would  not  survive  a  surrender.  He  said 
that  he  would  turn  over  the  command  to  Gen.  Buckner,  if  he 
( Gen.  Floyd )  could  be  allowed  to  withdraw  his  own  particular 
brigade.  To  this  Gen.  Buckner  consented.  Thereupon,  the 
command  was  turned  over  to  Gen.  Pillow,  he  passing  it  in- 
stantly to  Gen.  Buckner,  declaring  that  "he  would  neither  sur- 
render the  command  nor  himself."  Col.  Forrest,  at  the  head 
of  an  efficient  regiment  of  cavalry,  was  directed  to  accompany 
Gens..  Floyd  and  Pillow  in  what  was  supposed  to  be  an  effort 
to  pass  through  the  enemy's  lines.    Under  these  circumstances, 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  277 

Gen.  Buckner  accepted  the  command.  He  sent  a  flag  of  truce 
to  the  enemy  for  an  armistice  of  six  hours,  to  negotiate  for 
terms  of  capitulation.*  Before  the  flag  and  communication 
•were  delivered,  Gens.  Pillow  and  'Floyd  had  retired  from  the 
garrison,  and  by  daylight  were  pursuing  their  retreat  towards 
Nashville,  the  largest  portion  of  the  command  of  the  latter 
toilinar  in  their  flight  alonrr  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee,  but 
■without  a  pursuing  enemy  to  harass  them. 

The  surrender  of  Donelson  was  rendered  memorable  by  the 
hardest  fighting  that  had  yet  occurred  in  the  war,  and  by  one 
of  the  most  terrible  and  sickening  battle-fields  that  had  yet 
marked  its  devastations  or  had  ever  appealed  to  the  horror- 
stricken  senses  of  humanity.  The  conflict  had  run  through 
four  days  and  four  nights  ;  in  which  a  Confederate  force  not 
exceeding  13,000,  a  large  portion  of  whom  were  illy  armed, 
had  contended  with  an  army  at  least  three  times  its  number. 
The  loss  of  the  Federals  *vas  immense,  and  the  proofs  of  an 
undeniable  courage  were  left  in  the  number  of  their  dead  on 
the  field.  In  his  official  report  of  the  battle,  Gen.  Floyd  con- 
jectures that  the  enemy's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  reached  a 
number  beyond  5,000..  The  same  authority  gives  our  loss  at 
1,500.     Both  statements  arc  only  conjectural. 

The  scene  of  action  had  been  mostly  in  the  woods,  although 
there  were  two  open  places  of  an  acre  or  two  where  the  fight 
had  raged  furiously,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  dead. 
All  the  way  up  to  our  entrenchments  the  same  scene  of  death 
was  presented.     There  were  two  miles  of  dead  strewn  thickly, 

*  The  following  is  a  correct  list  of  the  Confederate  prisoners  taken  at  Fort 
Donelson.  The  number  was  reported  in  the  newspapers  of  the  time,  Jouth 
as  well  as  North,  to  have  been  much  larger:  Floyd's  Virginia  Artillery,  34; 
Guy's  Virginia  Artillery,  59;  French's  Virginia  Artillery,  43;  Murray's 
Battery,  97;  Cumberland  Battery,  55;  Fiftietli  Tennessee,  485;  Fourteenth 
Mississippi,  32G ;  Third  Mississippi,  330;  Seventh  Texas,  354;  Twenty-sixth 
Mississippi,  4-7;  Twenty-seventh  Alabama,  180;  Third  Tennessee,  627;  Tenth 
Tennessee,  60S;  Forty-second  Tennessee,  494;  Forty-eighth  Tennessee,  249; 
Forty-ninth  Tennessee,  450  ;  Twenty-sixth  Tennessee,  65  ;  Second  Kentucky, 
136;  Third  Alabama,  34;  Fiftieth  Virginia,  10;  Fiftyfirst  Tennessee,  17. 
Total,  5,079. 


278  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   TTAR. 

mingled  ■with  fire-arms,  artillery,  dead  horses,  and  the  para- 
phernalia of  the  battle-field.  Federals  and  Confederates  were 
promiscuously  mingled,  sometimes  grappling  in  the  fierce  death 
throe,  sometimes  facing  each'  other  as  they  gave  and  received 
the  fatal  shot  and  thrust,  sometimes  huddled  in  grotesque 
shapes,  and  again  heaped  in  piles,  which  lay  six  or  seven  feet 
deep.  Many  of  the  bodies  were  fearfully  mangled.  The  artil- 
lery horses  had  not  hesitated  to  tread  on  the  wounded,  dying 
and  ctead,  and, the  ponderous  artillery  wheels  crushed  limbg 
and  skulls.  It  was  an  awful  sight  to  behold  weak,  wounded 
men  lifting  their  feeble  hands  beneath  the  horses'  hoofs.  ■  The 
village  of  Dover,  which  was  within  our  lines,  contained  in  every 
room  in  every  house  sick,  wounded  or  dead  men.  Bloody  rags 
were  everywhere,  and  a  door  could  not  be  opened  without 
hearing  groans. 

"I  could  imagine,"  says  an  eye-witness  of  the  field  of  car- 
nage, "nothing  more  terrible  than. the  silent  indications  of 
agony  that  marked  the  features  of  the  pale  corpses  which  lay 
at  every  step.  Though  dead  and  rigid  in  every  muscle,  they " 
still  writhed  and  seemed  to  turn  to  catch  the  passing  breeze 
for  a  cooling  breath.  Staring  eyes,  gaping  mouths,  clenched 
hands,  and  strangely  contracted  limbs,  seemingly  drawn  into 
the  smallest  compass,  as  if  by  a  mighty  effort  to  rend  asunder 
some  irresistible  bond  which  held  them  down  to  the  torture  of 
which  they  died.  One  sat  against  a  tree,  and,  with  mouth  and 
eyes  wide  open,  looked  up  into  the  sky  as  if  to  catch  a  glance 
at  its  fleeting  spirit.  Another  clutched  the  branch  of  an  over- 
hanging tree,  and  hung  half-suspended,  as  if  in  the  death  pang 
he  had  raised  himself  partly  from  the  ground ;  the  other  had 
grasped  his  faithful  musket,  and  the  compression  of  his  mouth 
told  of  the  determination  which  would  have  been  fatal  to  a  foe 
had  life  ebbed  a  minute  later.  A  third  clung  with  both  hands 
to  a  bayonet  which  was  buried  in  the  ground.  Great  numbers 
lay  in  heaps,  just  as  the  fire  of  the  artillery  mowed  them  down, 
mangling  their  forms  into  an  almost  undistinguishable  mass." 

The  display  of  courage  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  troops 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  279 

was  unquestionable.  The  battle,  however,  was  fought  against 
us  by  Western  men,  there  not  being  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
as  .far  as  known,  any  men  east  of  the  Ohio.  The  Southern 
people,  while  contemning  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  New 
England  "Yankee"  and  the  Pennsylvania  Dutchman,  were 
constrained  to  give  to  the  Western  men  credit  for  their 
bravery;  and  many  of  our  own  officers  did  not  hesitate  to  ex- 
press the  opinion  that  the  Western  troops,  particularly  from 
Southern  Illinois,  Minnesota  and  Iowa,  were  as  good  fighting 
material  as  there  was  to  be  found  on  the  continent.  A  Con- 
federate officer  relates  a  story  of  an  extraordinary  display  of 
spirit  on  the  field  of  Donelson  by  a  regiment  of  Zouaves  from 
.Southern  Illinois — the  "Egypt"  regiment  as  it  was  called.  It 
had  been  completely  shattered  by  the  fire  of  artillery,  and  was 
scattered  over  the  fields  in  what  the  Confederates  supposed 
to  be  an  irretrievable  rout.  A  few  sharp  rallying  words  from 
their  colour-bearer,  and  the  men,  who  a  few  minutes  ago  were 
fugitives,  flocked  to  their  colours,  at  the  double-quick,  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  field,  and  re-formed  in  the  very  face  of  the 
advancing  foe. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Donelson  developed  the  crisis  in  the  West, 
which  had  long  existed.  .The  evacuation  of  Bowling  Green 
had  become  imperatively  necessary,  and  was  ordered  before 
and  executed  while  the  battle  was  being  fought  at  Donelson. 
Gen.  Johnston  awaited  the  event  opposite  Nashville.  The  re- 
sult of  the  conflict  each  day  was  announced  as  favourable.  At 
midnight  on  the  15th  February,  Gen.  Johnston  received  news 
of  a  glorious  victory — at  dawn  of  a  defeat. 

The  blow  was  most  disastrous.  It  involved  the  surrender 
of  Nashville,  which  wras  incapable  of  defence  from  its  position, 
and  Avas  threatened  not  only  by  the  enemy's  ascent  *of  the 
Cumberland,  but  by  the  advance  of  his  forces  from  Bowling 
Green.  Not  more  than  11,000  effective  men  hid  been  left 
under  Gen.  Johnston's  command  to  oppose  a  column  of  Gen. 
Buell,  of  not  less  than  40,000- troops,  while  the  army  from 
Fort  Donelson,  with  the  gun-boats  and  transports,  had  it  in* 


280  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

their  power  to  ascend  the  Cumberland,  so  as  to  intercept  all 
communication  with  the  South.  No  alternative  was  left  but  to 
evacuate  Nashville  or  sacrifice  the  army. 

The  evacuation  of  Nashville  was  attended  by  scenes  of  panic 
and  distress  on  the  part  of  the  population  unparalleled  in  the 
annals  of  any  American  city.  The  excitement  was  intensified 
by  the  action  of  the  authorities.  Governor  Harris  mounted  a 
horse  and  galloped  through  the  streets,  proclaiming  to  every 
body  the  news  that  Donelson  had  fallen ;  that  the  enemy  were 
coming  and  might  be  expected  hourly,  and  that  all  who  wished 
to  leave  had  better  do  so  at  once.  He  next  hastily  convened 
the  Legislature,  adjourned  it  to  Memphis,  and,  with  the  legis- 
lators and  the  State  archives,  left  the  town. 

An  earthquake  could  not  have  shocked  the  city  more.  The 
congregations  at  the  churches  were  broken  up  in  confusion 
and-  dismay;  women  and  children  rushed  into  the  streets, 
wailing  with  terror;  trunks  were  thrown  from  three-story  win- 
dows in  the  haste  of  the  fugitives;  and  thousands  hastened  to 
leave  their  beautiful  city  in  the  midst'  of  the  most  distressing 
scenes  of  terror  and  confusion,  and  of  plunder  by  the  mob. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  moved  the  main  body  of  his  command  to 
Murfreesboro' — a  rear  guard  being  left  in  Nashville  under  Gen. 
Floyd,  who  had  arrived  from  Donelson,  to  secure  the  stores  and 
provisions.  In  the  first  wild  excitement  of  the  panic,  the  store- 
houses had  been  thrown  open  to  the  poor.  They  were  besieged 
by  a  mob  ravenous  for  spoils  and  who  had  to  be  dispersed  from 
the  commissariat  by  jets  of  water  from  a  steam  fire-engine. 
Women  and  children,  even,  were  seen  scudding  through  the 
streets  under  loads  of  greasy  pork,  which  they  had  taken  as 
prizes  from  the  store-houses.  It  is  believed  that  hundreds  of 
families,  among  the  lower- orders  of  the  population,  secured  and 
secreted'  government  stores  enough  to  open  respectable  groce- 
ries. It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  Gen.  Floyd  could 
restore  order  and  get  his  martial  law  into  anything  like  an 
effective  system.  Blacks  and  whites  had  to  be  chased  and  cap- 
tured and  forced  to  help  the  movement  of  government  stores. 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  281 

One  man,  who,  after  a  long  chase,  was  captured,  offered  fight, 
and  was  in  consequence  shot  and  badly  wounded.  Not  less 
than  one  million  of  dollars  in  stores  was  lost  through  the  acts 
of  the  cowardly  and  ravenous  mob  of  Nashville.  Gen.  Floyd 
and  Col.  Forrest  exhibited  extraordinary  energy  and  efficiency 
in4  getting  off  government  stores.  Col.  Forrest  remained  in 
the  city  about  twenty-four  hours,  with  only  forty  men,  after 
the  arrival  of  the  enemy  at  Edgefield.  These  officers  were 
assisted  by  the  voluntary  efforts  of  several  patriotic  citizens  of 
Nashville,  who  rendered  them  great  assistance. 

These  shameful  scenes,  enacted  jn  the  evacuation  of  Nash- 
•  ville,  were  nothing  more  than  the  disgusting  exhibitions  of  any 
mob  brutalized  by  its  fears  or  excited  by  rapine.  A^;  any  rate, 
the  city  speedily  repaired  the  injury  done  its  reputation  by  a 
temporary  panic,  in  the  spirit  of  defiance  that  its  best  citizens, 
and  especially  its  ladies,  offered  to  the  enemy.  We  discover, 
in  fact,  the  most  abundant  evidence  in  the  Northern  news- 
papers that  the  Federals  did  not  find  the  "  Union"  sentiment 
that  they  expected  to  meet  with  in  the  capital  of  Tennessee, 
and  that,  if  there  were  any  indications  whatever  of  such  senti- 
ment, they  were  "  found  only  among  the  mechanics  and  labour- 
ing classes  of  the  city."  The  merchants  and  business  men  of 
Nashville,  as  a  class,  showed  a  firm,  unwavering  and  loyal  at- 
tachment to  the  cause  of  the  South.  The  ladies  gave  instances 
of  patriotism  that  were  noble  testimonies  to  their  sex.  They 
refused  the  visits  of  Federal  officers,  and  disdained  their  recog- 
nition ;  they  collected  a  fund  of  money  for  the  especial  pur- 
pose of  contributing  to  the  needs  of  our  prisoners ;  and,  says 
a  recipient  of  the  bounty  of  these  noble  women,  as  soon  as  a 
Confederate  prisoner  was  paroled  and  passed  into  the  next 
room,  he  found  pressed  in  his  hands  there  a  sum  of  money 
given  him  by  the  ladies  of  Nashville.  Many  of  the  most  re- 
spectable of  the  people  had  been  constrained  to  leave  their 
homes  rather  than  endure  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  The 
streets,  which,  to  confirm-  the  predictions  of  Northern  news- 
papers of  the  welcomes  that  awaited  the  "Union"  army  in  the 


282  THE   FIRST  TEAR    OP   THE   WAR. 

South,  should  have  been  gay  and  decorated,  presented  to  the 
enemy  nothing  but  sad  and  gloomy  aspects.  Whole  .rows  of 
houses,  which,  but  a  short  while  ago,  were  occupied  by  families 
of  wealth  and. respectability,  surrounded  by  all  the  circum- 
stances that  make  homes  happy  and  prosperous,  stood  vacant, 
and  the  gaze  of  the  passer-by  was  met,  instead  of,  as  in  former 
days,  with  fine  tapestry  window  curtains  and  neatly  polished 
marble  steps,  with  panes  of  dust-dimmed  glass. 

On  the  whole,  the  experience  of  the  enemy  in  Nashville  was 
vastly  instructive.  The  fact  that,  wherever  he  had  gone,  he 
had  converted  luke-warm#  Southern  districts  into  secession 
strongholds,  or  had  intensified  the  sentiment  of  opposition  to  * 
him,  was  fts  unexpected  to  him  as  it  was  gratifying  to  us. 
This  experience  was  universal  in  the  war  from  the  date  of  the 
occupation  of  Alexandria,  which  had  voted  overwhelmingly  for 
the  Union  in  the  preliminary  stages  of  the  revolution,  and  was 
subsequently  as  thoroughly  Southern  as  any  town  in  the  Con- 
federacy, down  to  the  occupation  of  Nashville,  which  had,  at 
first,  given  some  signs  of  weak  submission  to  its  fate,  and  after- 
wards spurned  its  invaders  with  a  spirit  of  defiance,  reckless  of 
consequences. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Nashville,  the  enemy  was  constantly 
harassed  by  local  parties  of  adventurers,  who  shot  his  pickets, 
watched  his  movements,  and  attacked  detached  portions  of  his 
forces  at  various  points.  The  whole  country  rang  with  the 
exploits  of  the  gallant  and  intrepid  cavalier,  Captain  John  H. 
Morgan,  and  his  brave  men  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville.  His 
squadron  belonged  to  Gen.  Hardee's  command,  and  he  had 
been  left  in  command  of  the  forces  at  Murfreesboro'  to  watch 
the  movements  of  the  Federals,  which  he  not  only  did  effectu- 
ally, but  enacted  a  number  of  daring  adventures  within  the 
lines  of  the  enemy. 

Scarcely  a  day  passed  without  some  such  exploit  of  Capt. 
Morgan  and  his  intrepid  partisans.  Once  he  nearly  succeeded 
in  capturing  a  Federal  general.  Another  day,  he  attacked 
a  party  of  scouts,  -and  killed  the  captain.     The  next  exploit 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  283 

was  to  rush  into  the  camp  of  some  regiment,  and  carry  off  a 
train  of  wagons.  The  most  daring  of  his  adventures  was  his 
sudden  appearance  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  entering  with 
forty  brave  followers  the  town  of  Gallatin,  twenty-six  milei 
north  of  Nashville,  on  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  railroad. 
On  entering  the  town,  Capt.  Morgan  immediately  seized  upon 
the  telegraph  office  and  the  depot.  He  had  presented  himself 
at  the  telegraph  office,  carelessly  asking  the  operator  what  was 
the  news,  when  that  individual,  never  for  a  moment  imagining 
who  it  was  that  addressed  him,  replied  that  there  were  rumours 
that  "the  rebel  scoundrel"  Morgan  was  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  proceeded  to  illustrate  his  own  valour  by  flourishing  a  re- 
volver, and  declaring  how  anxious  he  was  to  encounter  the  man 
who  was  creating  so  much  uneasiness  and  alarm  in  the  country. 
"  You  are  now  speaking  to  Captain  Morgan,"  was  the  quiet 
reply  of  the  partisan;  "I  am  he!"  At  these  words,  the  pistol  ' 
dropped  from  the  hands  of  the  operator,  who  entreated  the 
mercy  of  his  captor.  The  poor  fellow  easily  submitted  to  the 
task  assigned  to  him  of  sending  a  dispatch,  in  the  name  of 
Capt.  Morgan,  to  Frentice,  the  notorious  editor  of  the  Louis- 
ville Journal,  politely  offering  to  act  as  his  escort  on  his  pro- 
posed visit  to  Nashville.  After  this  amusement,  Capt.  Morgan 
and  his  men  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  train  from  Bowling 
Green.  In  due  time  the  train  came  thundering  in  ;  Capt.  Mor- 
gan at  once  seized  it,  and  taking  five  Federal  officers  who  were 
passengers  and  the  engineer  of  the  train  prisoners,  he  burned 
to  cinders  all  of  the  cars,  with  their  contents,  and  then  filling 
the  locomotive  with  turpentine,  shut  down  all  the  valves,  and 
started  it  towards  Nashville.  Before  it  had  run  eight  hundred 
.  yards,  the  accumulation  of  sfeam  caused  it  to  explode,  shiver- 
ing it  into  a  thousand  atoms.  Capt.  Morgan  then  started 
southward  with  his  prisoners,  and  made  his  way  safely  to  the 
Confederate  camp. 

On  another  occasion,  .while  returning  alone  towards  Mur- 
frcesboro',  Capt.  Morgan  encountered  a  picket  of  six  of  the 
enemy,  and  captured  them  and  their  arms.     It  was  accom- 


284  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

plished  by  a  bold  adventure.  He  discovered  the  pickets  in  a 
house,  and  having  on  a  Federal  overcoat,  assumed  a  bold  front, 
and  riding  up  to  the  sergeant  rebuked  him  for  not  attending 
properly  to  his*  duty,  and  ordered  that  the  whole  party  should 
consider  themselves  under  arrest,  and  surrender  their  arms. 
The  soldiers  not  doubting  for  a  moment  that  they  were  ad- 
dressed by  a  Federal  officer,  delivered. up  their  muskets.  As 
they  were  marched  into  the  road,  with  their  faces  turned  from 
their  camp,  the  sergeant  said,  "  We  are  going  the  wrong  way, 
colonel."  "We  are  not,"  was  the  reply.  "I  am  Captain 
Morgan." 

The  name  of  Captain  Morgan  was  fast  becoming  famous  as 
that  of  a  partisan  leader.  He  was  induced  to  abandon  his 
present  field  of  operations  to  accept  promotion  in  the  army, 
being  appointed  to  a  colonelcy  in  the  regular  military  ser- 
vice, for  which  he  had  been  urgently  recommended  by  Gen. 
Hardee. 

Since  falling  back  to  Murfreesboro',  Gen.  Johnston  had 
managed,  by  combining  Crittenden's  division  and  the  fugitives 
from  Donelson,  to  collect  an  army  of  17,000  men.  His  object 
was  now  to  co-operate  with  Gen.  Beauregard  for  the  defence 
of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  on  a  line  of  operations  south 
of  Nashville.  The  line  extending  from  Columbus,  by  way  of 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  had  been  lost.  The  disaster  had 
involved  the  surrender  of  Kentucky  and  a  large  portion  of 
Tennessee  to  the  enemy ;  and  it  had  become  necessary  to  re- 
organize a  new  line  of  defence  sonth  of  Nashville,  the  object 
of  which  would  be  to  protect  the  railroad  system  of  the 
Southwest,  and  to  insure  the  defence  of  Memphis  and  the 
Mississippi. 

The  work  of  putting  the  Mississippi  River  in  a  state  of  com- 
plete defence  had  been  entrusted  to  Gen.  Beauregard.  On 
abandoning  Columbus,  he  had  taken  a  strong  position  about 
forty-five  miles  below  it,  at  Island  No.  10.  This  locality  was 
looked  upon  as  the  chief  barrier  to  the  progress  of  the  Federals 
down  the  Mississippi.     At  the  island,  a  bend  occurs  in  the 


THR   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  285 

river  of  several  miles  extent.  Around  and  upon  this  curve 
were  located  the  towns  of  New  Madrid  and  Point  Pleasant. 
The  distance  around  the  bend  was  about  thirty  miles,  whereas 
the  distance  across  by  land  from  Tiptonville  below  to  the  island 
above  did  not  exceed  five  miles.  It  was  calculated  that  even 
should  the  enemy  hold  Point  Pleasant,  and  get  possession  of 
New  Madrid  by  our  evacuation  of  that  post  also,  our  communi- 
cations by  water  to  Tiptonville,  and  thence  by  land  across  the 
bend  to  Island  No.  10,  would  still  remain  intact.  The  island 
was  thought  to  be  impregnable.  It  was  flanked  on  the  Mis- 
souri side  by  an  extensive  swamp,  and  on  the  other  side  by  a 
lake  of  several  miles  extent,  which  rendered  it  impossible  for 
the  enemy  to  approach  the  position  by  land. 

With  this  indication  of  the  situation  in  the  West  and  the 
operations  for  the  defence  of  Memphis  and  the  Mississippi,  to 
which  the  Southward  movement  of  Gen.  Johnston  towards  the 
left  bank  of  the  Tennessee  was  expected  to  contribute,  we  must 
leave,  for  a  short  period,  our  narrative  of  the  movements  and 
events  of  the  war  in  this  direction. 

The  serious  disaster  at  Donelson  appears  to  have  been  fully 
appreciated  by  the  Confederate  government;  and  its  announce- 
ment in  Richmond  was  followed,  to  the  surprise  of  the  public, 
by  a  communication  from  President  Davis  to  Congress,  on  the 
11th  of  March,  declaring  the  official  reports  of  the  affair  in- 
complete and  unsatisfactor}7,  and  "  relieving  from  command  " 
Gens.  Floyd  and  Pillow.  The  main  causes  of  dissatisfaction 
indicated  by  the  President  were,  that  reinforcements  were  not 
asked  for  by  the  commanding  generals  at  Donelson,  and  that 
the  senior  generals  "abandoned  responsibility,"  by  transfer- 
ring the  command  to  a  junior  officer.  This  act  of  President 
Davis  was  the  subject  of  warm  and  protracted  argument  in 
Congress  and  in  the  newspapers.  It  was  shown,  by  evidence 
produced  before  Congress,  that  no  reinforcements  had  been 
asked  for,  because  it  was  known  how  much  the  command  of 
Gen.  Johnston"had  already  been  weakened  by  sending  Floyd's 
and  Buckncr's  forces  to  Donelson;  because  an  overwhelming 


286  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OP   THE  WAR. 

force  of  the  enemy  was  pressing  on  his  rear ;  and  because  Gen. 
Johnston's  troops  were  on  the  march  between  Bowling  Green 
and  Nashville,  and  could  not  reach  Fort  Donelson  in  time  to 
change  the  fortunes  of  the  day. 

"With  reference  to  the  second  assignment  of  cause  of  the 
President's  displeasure,  it  was  agreed  on  all  sides  that  the 
transfer  of  the  command  by  the  senior  generals  Avas  irregular. 
In  a  letter,  however,  written  to  the  President  by  Gen.  John- 
ston himself,  which  was  understood  to  be  private  and  confiden- 
tial, and  was,  therefore,  wholly  relieved  from-  any  suspicion  of 
the  gloze  of  an  official  report,,  that  officer  had  directed  no  cen- 
sure upon  Gens.  Floyd  and  Pillow.  On  the  contrary,  in  the 
confidence  of  this  private  letter,  he  wrote  to  the  President, 
"  the  command  was  irregularly  transferred,  and  devolved  on 
the  junior  general,  but  not  apparently  to  avoid  any  just  re-. 
sponsibility  or  from  any  want  of  personal  or  moral  intrepidity;" 
and  he  expressed  continued  "  confidence  in  the  gallantry,  the 
energy,  and  the  devotion  to  the  Confederacy,"  of  both  Gens. 
Floyd  and  Pillow,  which  was  testified  especially  in  the  case 
of  Gen.  Floyd,  by  assigning  him,  after  the  fall  of  Donelson, 
to  the  important  duty  of  proceeding  to  Chattanooga  to  de- 
fend the  approaches  towards  Northern  Alabama  and  Georgia 
and  the  communication  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  At- 
lantic. This  was  the  private  and  unrestrained  testimony  of 
Gen.  Johnston.  With  perhaps  a  superiour  military  sensitive- 
ness of  "irregularity,"  Mr.  Davis  repudiated  the  explanations 
of  the  commanding  general  in  the  field;  deprived  Gens.  Floyd 
and  Pillow  of  their  commands;  and  offered  the  spectacle  to  the 
country  of  a  President  with  one  hand  sacrificing  two  brave 
officers  who  had  contributed  to  the  country's  glory  and  safety 
in  more  than  one  victory,  for  a  military  punctilio,  and  with  the 
other  elevating  to  the  highest  office  in  his  gift  a  man  who,  as 
Attorney-Genera},  Secretary  of  War,  and,  at  last,  Secretary 
of  State,  seemed  to  enjoy  the  monopoly  of  the  lucre  and 
honours  of  state,  and  who  had  been  charged,  by  the  official  re- 
port of  a  general  in  the  field  and  by  the  deliberate  and  unani- 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  287 

mous  verdict  of  a  committee  of  Congress,  with  the, plain  and 
exclusive  responsibility  of  the  disaster  of  Roanoke  Island. 
*  The  contrast  between  these  two  acts  needed  no  addition  of 
argument  to  convince  the  public  mind  that  its  government  was 
not  above  the  errours  of  judgment  or  the  pariialities  of  human 
affection. 

The  disposition  of  the  Confederate  prisoners  taken  at  Fort 
Donelson  gave  an  exhibition  of  vile  perfidy  on  the  part  of  the 
North  to  which  there  is  no  parallel  to  be  found  in  the  history 
of  civilized  warfare,  or  in  all  the  crooked  paths  of  modern 
diplomacy.  Instead  of  these  prisoners  being  discharged  by 
the  North  according  to  the  understanding  existing  between  the 
two  governments,  they  were  carried  off  into  the  Western 
interiour,  where  they  were  treated  with  indignities  and  made  a 
spectacle  for  mobs,  who  jeered  at  them  because  they  did  not 
have  uniforms  and  warm  coats,  because  many  of  the  poor 
fellows  had  nothing  better  than  horse  blankets,  rngs  and  coffee 
sacks  around  their  shoulders,  and  because  the  "  rebels," — whose 
true, glory  a  just  and  generous  spirit  would  have  found  in  their 
coarse  and  tattered  garbs  and  marks  of  patient  suffering, — 
lacked  the  fine  and  showy  equipments  of  the  Federal  troops. 

This  act  of  bad  faith  on  the  part  of  the  North  is  remarkable 
enough  for  a  full  and  explicit  history  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  committed. 

Permission  had  been  asked  by  the  Northern  government  for 
two  commissioners,  Messrs.  Fish  and  Ames,  to  visit  their 
prisoners  of  war  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  South.  Our 
government,  while  denying  this  permission,  sought  to  improve 
the  opportunity  by  concerting  a  settled  plan  for  the  exchange 
of  prisoners ;  and  for  the.  execution  of  this  purpose  Messrs. 
Conrad  and  Seddon  were  deputed  as  commissioners  to  meet 
those  of  the  Northern  government  under  a  flag  of  truce  at 
Norfolk. 

Subsequently  a  letter  from  Gen.  Wool  was  addressed  to  Gen. 
Huger,  informing  him  that  he,  Gen.  Wool,  had  full  authority 


288  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

to  settle  any  terms  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  and   asking 
an  interview  on  the  subject.     General  Howell  Cobb  was  then 
appointed  by  the  government  to  mediate  with  Gen.  Wool,  and* 
to  settle  a  permanent  plan  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  during 
the  war. 

In  the  letter  to  General  Huger,  dated  the  13th  of  February, 
1862,  General  Wool  wrote: 

"I  am  alone  clothed  icilh  full  power  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  for  the 
exchange  of  prisoners.  Being  thus  empowered,  I  am  ready  to  confer  -with 
you  on  the  subject,  or  the  Honorable  Messrs.  Seddon  and  Conrad,  or  any 
other  persons  appearing  for  that  purpose.  I  am  prepared  to  arrange  for  the 
restoration  of  all  the  prisoners  to  their  homes  on  fair  terms  of  exchange,  man 
for  man,  and  officer  for  officer  of  equal  grade,  assimilating  the  grade  of 
officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  when  necessary,  and  agreeing  upon  equitable 
terms  for  the  number  of  men  or  officers,  of  iuferiour  grade,  to  be  exchanged 
for  any  of  higher  grade  when  the  occasion  shall  arrive.  That  all  the  surplus 
prisoners  on  either  side  be  exchanged  on  parole,  with  the  agreement  that  any 
prisoners  of  war  taken  by  the  other  party  shall  be  returned  in  ezchanye  as  fast  as 
captured,  and  this  system  to  be  continued  while  hostilities  continue. 

"  I  would  further  inform  you,  or  any  other  person  selected  for  the  purpose 
of  making  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  that  the  prisoners 
taken  on  board  of  vessels,  or  otherwise  in  maritime  conflict,  by  the  forces  of 
the  United  States,  have  been  put,  and  are  now  held,  only  in  military  custody, 
and  on  the  same  footing  as  other  prisoners  taken  in  amis." 

The  proposition,  it  appears,  was  readily  accepted  by  our 
government,  and  a  memorandum  made  as  a  basis  for  a  cartel. 
It  was  proposed  in  this  memorandum  that  the  prisoners  of  war 
in  the  hands  of  each  government  should  be  exchanged,  man  for 
man,  the  officers  being  assimilated  as  to  rank,  &c. ;  that  our 
privateersmen  should  be  exchanged  on  the  footing  of  prisoners 
of  war ;  that  any  surplus  remaining  on  either  side,  after  these 
exchanges,  should  be  released,  and  that  hereafter,  during  the 
whole  continuance  of  the  war,  prisoners  taken  on  either  side 
should  be  paroled  within  ten  days  after  their  capture,  and 
delivered  on  the  frontier  of  their  own  country. 

General  Wool  promptly  agreed  to  all  the  propositions  except 
two.  In  lieu  of  the  compensation  basis  of  equivalents  contain- 
ed in  one  of  the  items  of  the  memorandum,  he  proposed  the 


THE  FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  289 

cartel  of  equivalents  adopted  by  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  General  Cobb  accepted  it.  ■ 

He  also  objected  to -the  provisions  in  another  item,  which 
required  each  party  to  pay  the  expense  of  transporting  their 
prisoners  to  the  frontier  of  the  country  of  the  prisoners.  The 
provision  met  his  entire  approval,  but  he  did  not  feel  authorized, 
by  his  instructions,  to  incorporate  it  into  the  proposed  cartel, 
and,  therefore,  desired  time  to  consult  his  government  on  the 
subject. 

The  interview  closed  with  the  promise  from  General  Wool 
that  he  would  notify  General  Cobb,  as  soon  as  he  could  hear 
from  his  government,  on  that  point. 

On  the  first  of  March  General  Cobb  held  his  second  interview 
with  him,  in  which  he  (General  Cobb)  proposed  to  enter  into  a 
cartel,  containing  the  stipulations  previously  set  forth.  General 
Wool  then  replied  that  his  government  would  not  agree  to  the 
proposition  that  each  party  should  pay  the  expense  of  trans- 
porting their  prisoners  to  th©  frontier,  when  General  Cobb 
promptly  waived  it,  thus  leaving  the  cartel  free  from  all  his 
objections,  and  just  what  General  Wool  had  himself  proposed 
in  his  letter  of  the  13th  February  to  General  Huger. 

Upon  this,  General  Wool  informed  General  Cobb  that  his 
government  had  changed  his  instructions  and  abruptly  broke 
off  the  negotiation. 

In  the  meantime  our  government,  in  a  very  curious  or  very 
foolish  anticipation  of  the  good  faith  of  the  North,  had  directed 
the  discharge  of  the  prisoners  held  by  us  as  hostages  for  the 
safety  and  proper  treatment  of  our  privateersmen,  who  were 
confined  in  felons'  cells  and  threatened  with  the  gallows.  Cols. 
Lee,  Cogswell  and  Wood,  and  Major  Revere  were  sent  to  their 
own  country ;  the  remaining  hostages  were  brought  on  parole 
from  distant  points  to  Richmond,  on  their  way  to  be  delivered 
up,  at  the  expense  of  this  Government,  and  their  surrender 
was  only  suspended  on  receipt  of  intelligence  from  General 
Cobb,  that  he  saw  reason  to  suspect  bad  faith,  on  the  part  of 
the  enemy. 

19    • 


290  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  perfidy  of  the  North  was  basely  accomplished.*  The 
correspondence  of  the  Federal  authorities,  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  on  this  subject,  constitutes  a'  chapter  of  diplomacy 
qualified  to  attract  the  scorn  of  all  civilized  and  honorable 
nations.  At  the  time  when  it  was  believed  our  government 
held  the  larger  number  of  prisoners,  the  Federal  government 
proposed  to  exchange  all  prisoners,  and  to  place  on  parole,  in 
their  own  country,  the  surplus  held  by  either  party ;  and  our 
government  agreed  to  the  proposition.  Before  the  agreement 
could  be  reduced  to  writing  and  signed  by  the  parties,  the 
casualties  of  war,  in  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson,  reversed  this 
state  of  things,  and  gave  the  Federal  government  the  larger 
number  of  prisoners.     With  this  change  of  things  that  govern- 

*  This  act  of  deception  on  the  part  of  the  North  was  but  one  of  a  long 
series  of  acts  of  Yankee  perfidy,  and  of  their  abnegation  of  the  rights  of 
civilized  war.  Wffen  McDowell  left  Washington  cfty  to  take  Richmond,  his 
army  was  supplied  with .  handcuffs  to  iron  rebels.  After  the  battle  of  Bull's 
Run  they  sent  a  white  flag  to  ask  permission  to  bury  their  dead.  It  was 
humanely  granted.  They  left  their  dead  to  bury  their  dead,  and  attempted, 
under  the  protection  of  that  white  flag,  to  erect  batteries  for  our  destruction. 
On  the  battle-field  of  Manassas  they  unfurled  a  Confederate  flag,  and  shouted 
to  our  troops  not  to  fire  upon  them,  that  they  were  our  friends,  and  then  they 
fired  upon  our  troops  and  fled.  At  Manassas  a*d  Pensacola  they  repeatedly 
and  deliberately  fired  upon  our  hospitals,  when  over  them  a  yellow  flag  was 
waiving.  In  Hampton  Roads  they  hung  out  a  w.hite  flag,  and  then  prostituted 
the  protection  it  secured  to  them  to  the  cowardly  assassination  of  our  brave 
seamen.  At  Newbern,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  they  attempted  to  shell 
a  city  containing  several  thousand  women  and  children,  before  either  demand- 
ing a  surrender  or  giving  the  citizens  notice  of  their  intentions.  A  Kentuckiaa 
went  into  a  Federal  camp  to  reclaim  a  fugitive  slave,  and  they  tied  him  up 
and  gave  him  twenty-five  lashes  upon  his  bare  back,  in  the  presence  of  his 
runaway  slave.  It  was  repeatedly  proposed  by  the  people  of  the  South  to 
treat  such  an  enemy  without  ceremony  or  quarter,  by  hanging  out  the  black 
flag  and  making  the  war  a  bellurn  intern ecinum ;  but  while  the  South  debated, 
talked -and  threatened,  the  North  acted,  availing  itself  of  the  most  ferocious 
and  brutal  expedients  of  the  war,  arming  the  slaves,  breaking  faith  on  every 
occasion  of  expediency,  disregarding  flags  of  truce,  stealing  private  property, 
ravishing  women,  bombarding  hospitals,  and  setting  at  defiance  every  law  of 
civilized  warfare.  Such  was  the  perfidy  and  brutality  of  the  North,  to  which 
the  South  responded  with  the  puerile  threat  of  a  black  flag,  which  was'never 
hoisted,  and  which  did  not  even  serve  the  purposes  of  a  scarecrow  to  its  bold 
and  unscrupulous  enemy. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  291 

ment  changed  its  policy,  and  deliberately,  and  perfidiously, 
and  shamelessly  receded  from  the  propositions  to  which  it  had 
been  distinctly  committed  by  every  obligation  of  truth,  honour 
and  good  faith. 

While  Mr.  Benjamin,  Secretary  of  War,  by  a  curious  act  of 
supererogation  was  releasing  our  most  important  prisoners  of 
war  in  advance  of  the  conclusion  of  negotiations,  sending  them 
North  without  waiting  to  have  them  regularly  and  safely 
exchanged  under  a  flag  of  truce  in  Norfolk  harbour,  the  enemy 
were  conveying  the  prisoners  captured  at  Fort  Donelson  to 
Chicago  and  other  points  more  distant  from  their  homes,  and 
were  parading  the  officers  who  fell  into  their  power  through  the 
entire  breadth  of  the  land,  from  Western  Tennessee  to  Fort 
Warren  in  Boston  Harbour,  where  they  were  incarcerated.  Far 
the  prisoners  so  curiously,  and  with  such  unnecessary  haste, 
dispatched  to  the  North  by  Mr.  Benjamin,  not  a  single  officer 
taken  at  Fort  Donelson,  nor  a  single  captive  privatcersman,  had 
been  restored  to  his  home.  With  an  excess  of  zeal  well  calcu- 
lated to  draw  attention  from  his  own  part  of  tliG  transaction, 
Mr.  Benjamin  proposed  as  a  retaliation  upon  the  perfidy  of  the 
North  to  discharge  our  own  citizens  who  were  subject  to 
parole ;  but  happily  a  counsel,  which  proposed  to  redress  a 
wrong  by  an  act  disreputable  to  ourselves  and  in  violation  of 
what  were  the  obligations  of  our  honour  in  the  sight  qf  the 
civilized  world,  was  rejected  alike  by  the  government  and  the 
country,  who  were  content  to  commit  the  dishonour  of  their 
enemy,  without  attempting  to  copy  it  under  pleas  of  retaliation, 
to  the  justice  of  history  and  the  future  judgments  or  the  world. 


292  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 


•     CHAPTER  XL 

Organization  of  the  Permanent  Goyernment  of  the  South... The  Policy  of 
England. ..Declarations  of  Earl  Russell. ..Onset  of  the  Northern  Forces. ..Presi- 
dent Davis'  Message  to  Congress. ..The  Addition  of  New  States  and  Territo- 
ries to  the  Southern  Confederacy. ..Our  Indian  Allies. ..The  Financial  Condi- 
tion, North  and  South. ..Deceitful  Prospects  of  Peace. ..Effect  of  the  Disasters 
to  the  South. ..Action  of  Congress. ..The  Conscript  Bill. ..Provisions  vs.  Cot- 
ton... Barbarous  Warfare  of  the  North. ..The  Anti-Slavery  Sentiment. ..How  it 
Was  Unmasked  in  the  War. ..Emancipation  Measures  in  the  Federal  Congress... 
Spirit  of  the  Southern  People. ..The  Administration  of  Jefferson  Davis. ..His 
Cabinet. ..The  Defensive  Policy. ..The  Naval  Engagement  in  Hampton 
Roads... Iron-Clad  Vessels. ..What  the  Southern  Government  Might  Have 
Done. ..The  Narrative  of  General  Price's  Campaign  Resumed. ..His  Retreat 
into  Arkansas. ..The  Battle  of  Elk  Horn. ..Criticism  of  the  Result. ..Death  of 
General  McCulfi)3h...The  Battle  of  Valve rde... The  Foothold  of  the  Con- 
federates in  New  Mexico. ..Change  of  the  Plan  of  Campaign  in  Virginia... 
Abandonment  of  the  Potomac  Line  by  the  Confederates. ..The  Battle  of 
Kernstown... Colonel  Turner  Ashby... Appearance  of  McClellan's  Army  on 
the  Peninsula. ..Firmness  of  General  Magruder...The  New  Situation  of  the 
War  in  Virginia. ..Recurrence  of  Disasters  to  the  South  on  the  Water. ..The 
Capture  of  Newbern....Fall  of  Fort  Pulaski  and  Fort  Macon. ..Common  Sense 
vs.  "  West  Point." 


The  Permanent  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  was 
organized  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  in  a  season  of  reverses 
to  our  arms  and  at  a  dark  hour  in  our  national  fortunes. 

All  hopes  of  foreign  interference  were  positively  at  an  end. 
On  the  meeting  of  the  British  Parliament  in  the  early  part  of 
February,  Earl  Russell  had  declared  that  the  blockade  of  the 
American  ports  had  been  effective  from  the  15th  of  August, 
in  the  face  of  the  facts  that  the  dispatches  of  Mr.  Bunch,  the 
English  consul  at  Charleston,  said  that  it  was  not  so ;  and  that 
authentic  accounts  and  letters  of  merchants  showed  that  any 
ships,  leaving  for  the  South,  could  be  insured  by  a  premium  of 
seven  and  a-half»  tg  fifteen  per  cent.  England  had  accepted 
the  Treaty  of  Paris,  and  yet  did  not  hesitate  to  violate  the 


.    •  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  293 

principles  that  had  been  definitely  consecrated  by  article  four 
of  that  treaty,  by  declaring  the  Federal  blockade  effective,  for 
no  other  reason  than  that  "  considerable  prudence  was  neces- 
sary in  the  American  question."  In  the  House  of  Commons, 
Mr.  Gregory  asserted  that  the  non-observation  of  the  Treaty 
of  Paris  was  a  deception  for  the  Confederate  States,  and  an 
ambuscade  for  the  interests  of  commerce  throughout  the  world. 

The  Northern  army  had  remained  quiet  on  the  Potomac, 
amusing  the  Southern  people  with  its  ostentatious  parades  and 
gala-day  sham  fights,  while  the  government  at  Washington  was 
preparing  an  onset  all  along  our  lines  from  Hatteras  to  Kansas. 
Burnside  had  captured  Roanoke  Island  in  the  East,  while  Fort 
Henry  on  the  Tennessee  and  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumber- 
land liad  sent  the  echo  back  to  Albemarle.  Buffeting  sleet 
and  storm  and  by  forced  marches  the  enemy  had  seized  Bowl- 
ing Green,  while  Seigel  fell  suddenly  upon  Springfield ;  the 
enemy's  gun-boats  threatened  Savannah,  and  Gen.  Butler  hur- 
ried off  his  regiments  and  transports  to  the  Gulf  for  an  attack 
via  Ship  Island  upon  New  Orleans. 

In  his  message  to  Congress,  President  Davis  declared  that 
the  magnified  proportions  of  the  war  had  occasioned  serious 
disasters,  and  that  the  effort  was  impossible  to  protect  by  our 
arms  the  whole  of  the  territory  of  the  Confederate  States,  sea- 
board and  inland.  To  the  popular  complaint  of  inefficiency  in 
the  departments  of  the  government,  he  declared  that  they  had 
done  all  which  human  power  and  foresight  enabled  them  to 
accomplish. 

The  increase  of  our  territory  since  the  opening  of  the  war 
was  scarcely  a  cause  for  boast.  The  addition  of  new  States 
and  Territories  had  greatly  extended  our  lines  of  defence. 
Missouri  had  been  unable  to  wrest  from  the  enemy  his  occu- 
pancy of  her  soil.  Kentucky  had  been  admitted  into  the  Con- 
federacy only  to  become  the  theatre  of  active  hostilities,  and, 
at  last,  to  be  abandoned  to  the  enemy.  The  Indian  treaties 
effected  by  the  Provisional  Congress,  .through  the  mediation  of 
Gen.  Albert  Pike,  had  secured  us  a  rich  domain,  but  a  trou- 


294  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OE  THE  WAR. 

blesome  and  worthless  ally.*  It  was  possible,  however,  that 
in  this  domain  s there  might  be  secured  a  rich  inheritance  for 
posterity.  It  comprised  an  area  of  more  than  eighty  thousand 
square  miles,  diversified  by  mountains  filled  with  iron,  coal  and 
other  mineral  treasures,  and  broad-reaching  plains,  with  the 
Red  River  running  along  its  southern  border,  the  Arkansas 
River  almost  through  its  centre,  and  their  tributaries  reticu- 
lating its  entire  surface. 

At  the  time  of  the  inauguration  of  our  permanent  govern- 
ment, there  was,  however,  orle  aspect  of  our  affairs  of  striking 
encouragement.  It  was  the  condition  of  the  finances  of  the 
government.  We  had  no  floating  debt.  The  credit  <af  the 
government  was  unimpaired  among  its  own  people.  The 
total  expenditures  for  the  year  had  been,  in  round  numbers, 


*  In  December  last,  Col.  James  Mcintosh  was  sent  from  Arkansas  into  the 
Cherokee  Nation  to  chastise  the  rebellious  Creek  Chief  Opoth-lay-oho-la, 
■which  he  did  with  good  effect.  The  results  of  the  incursion  were  thus  enu- 
merated by  Col.  Mcintosh  :  "We  captured  one  hundred  and  sixty  women  and 
children,  twenty  'negroes,  thirty  wagons,  seventy  yoke  of  oxen,  about  five 
hundred  Indian  horses,  several  hundred  head  of  cattle,  one  hundred  sheep 
and  a  great  quantity  of  property  of  much  value  to  the  enemy.  The  strong- 
hold of  Opoth-lay-oho-la  was  completely  broken  up  and  his  force  scattered  in 
every  direction,  destitute  of  the  simplest  elements  of  subsistence." 

The  Indian  Territory  (not  including  the  Osage  country — its  extent  being 
unknown — nor  the  800.000  acres  belonging  to  the  Cherokees  which  lie  between 
Missouri  and  Kansas)  embraces  an  area  of  82,073  square  miles — more  than 
fifty-two  millions  of  acres,  to  wit : 

The  land  of  the  Cherokees,  Osages,  Quapaws,  Senecas,  and  Senecas  and 
Shawnees,  38,105  square  miles,  or  24,388,800  acres. 

That  of  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles,  20,531  square  miles,  or  13,140,000 
acres. 

That  of  the  Reserve  Indians,  and  the  Choctaws  and  Chicfcasaws,  23,437 
square  miles,  or  15,000,000  acres. 

Total  82,073  square  miles,  or  52,528,800  acres. 

Its  population  consists  of  Cherokees,  23,000;  Osages,  7,500:  Quapaws, 
320;  Creeks,  13,500;  Seminoles,  2,500;  Reserve  Indians,  2,000;  Choctaws, 
17,500;  and  Chickasaws,  4,700 — making  an  aggregate  of  71,520  souls. 

This  Indian  country  is,  in  many  respects,  really  a  magnificent  one.  It  is 
one  of  the  brightest  aijd  fairest  parts  of  the  great  West,  and  only  needs  the 
development  of  its  resources  to  become  the  equal  of  the  most  favoured  lauds 
on  this  continent. 


THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  295 

§170,000,000;  less  than  one-third  of  the  sum  expended  by 
the  enemy  to  conquer  us,  and  less  than  the  value  of  a  single 
article  of  export — the  cotton  crop  of  the  year. 

In  the  Federal  Congress  it  was  estimated  that,  at  the  end 
of  the  fiscal  year,  (June,  1862,)  the  public  debt  of  the  Northern 
government  would  be  about  $750,000,000,  and  that  the  de- 
mands on  the  treasury,  to  be  met  by  taxation,  direct  and  indi- 
rect, would  not  be  less  than  $165,000,000  per  annum. 

The  problem  of  the  Northern  finances  was  formidable  enough. 
It'  was  calculated  that  the  Federal  tax  would  be  from  four  to 
six  times  greater  for  each  State  than  their  usual  assessments 
heretofore,  and  doubts  were  expressed,  even  by  Northern  jour- 
nals in  the  interest  of  the  government,  if  it  could  be  raised  in 
any  other  way  than  by  practical  confiscation. 

The  South,  however,  had  already  lingered  too  long  in  the 
delusive  promise  of  the  termination  of  the  war  by  the  breaking 
down  of  the  finances  of  the  Northern  government,  and  had 
entertained  prospects  of  peace  in  the  crude  philosophy  and 
calculations  of  the  .newspaper  article,  without  looking  to  those 
great  lessons  of  history  which  shewed  to  what  lengths  a  war 
might  be  carried  despite  the  difficulties  of  finance,  the  confines 
of  reason,  and  the  restraint*  of  prudence,  when  actuated  by 
that  venom  and  desperation  which  were  shown  alike  by  the 
people  and  government  of  the  North.  The  very  extent  of  the 
Northern  expenditure  should  have  been  an  occasion^of  alarm 
instead  of  self-complacency  to  the  South ;  it  showed  the  tre- 
mendous energy  of  the  North  and  the  overpowering  measure 
of  its  preparation ;  it  argued  a  most  terrible  degree  of  despera- 
tion ;  and  it  indicated  that  the  North  had  plunged  so  far  into 
the  war,  that  there  was  but  little  sane  choice  between  striving 
to  wade  through  it,  and  determining  to  turn  back  with  certain 
and  inevitable  ruin  in  its  face. 

Fortunately,  the  lessons  of  its  late  disasters  were  not  en- 
tirely lost  upon  the  .government  of  the  Confederate  States. 
They  happily  gave  fresh  impulses  to  the  authorities,  and  were 
productive  of  at  least  some  new  and  vigorous  political  mea- 


296  THE  FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

sures.  The  most  important  of  these  was  a  conscript  bill  for 
increasing  our  forces  in  the  field.  The  enlargement  of  the 
proportions  of  the  war  demanded  such  a  measure  ;  the  conflict, 
in  which'  we  were  now  engaged,  extended  from  the  shores  of 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  confines  of  Missouri  and  Arizona. 

The  measures  and  expressions  of  the  government  plainly 
intimated  to  the  people,  who  had  been  so  persistently  incredu- 
lous of  a  long  war,  that  it  had  become  probable  that  the  war 
would  be  continued  through  a  series  of  years,  and  that  prepara- 
tions for  the  ensuing  campaigns  should  be  commensurate  with 
such  a  prospect.  In  Congress,  resolutions  were  passed  urging 
the  planters  to  "Suspend  the  raising  of  cotton,  and  to  plant 
provision  crops,  so  as  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  army. 
This  change  in  the  direction  of  our  industry,  besides  increasing 
the  capacity  of  the  South  to  sustain  itself,  aimed  a  blow  at  the 
well-known  selfish  calculations  of  England  to  repay  herself  for 
past  losses  from  the  blockade,  in  the  cheap  prices  expected 
from  the  excessive  supply  of  two  years'  crop  of  cotton  in  the 
South.  The  South  was  not  to  be  the  only  or  chief  loser  in  the 
diminished  production  of  he'r  great  staple  and  the  forced  change 
in  her  industrial  pursuits.  For  every  labourer  who  was  diverted 
from  the  culture  of  cotton  in  the  South,  perhaps,  four  times  as 
many  elsewhere,  who  had  found  subsistence  in  the  various  em- 
ployments growing  out  of  its  use,  would  be  forced  also  out  of 
their  usu»l  occupations.  The  prospect  of  thus  bringing  ruin 
upon  the  industrial  interests  of  other  countries  was  not  pleas- 
ing to  our  people  or  our  government ;  although  it  was  some 
consolation  to  know  that  England,  especially,  might  yet  feel, 
through  this  change  of  production  in  the  South,  the  conse- 
quences of  her  folly  and  the  merited  fruits  of  her  injustice  to 
a  people  who  had  been  anxious  for  her  amity,  and  had  at 
one  time  been  ready  to  yield  to  her  important  commercial 
privileges. 

In  the  growing  successes  of  the  Northern  armies,  the  spirit 
of  the  Southern  people  came  to  the  aid  of  their  government 
with  new  power  and  a  generosity  that  was  quite  willing  to  for- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  297 

get  all  its  shortcomings  in  the  past.  The  public  sentiment  had 
been  exasperated  and  determined  in  its  resolution  of  resistance 
to  the  last  extremity  by  the  evidences  of  ruin,  barbarism  and 
shameless  atrocities  that  had  marked  the  paths  of  the  progress 
of  the  enemy.  The  newspapers  were  filled  with  accounts  of 
outrages  of  the  enemy  in  the  districts  occupira  by  him.  By 
his  barbarous  law  of  confiscation,  widows  and  orphans  had  been 
stripped  of  death's  legacies ;  he  had  overthrown  municipalities 
and  State  governments ;  he  had  imprisoned  citizens  without 
warrant,  and  regardless  of  age  or  sex  ;  he  had  destroyed  com- 
merce, and  beggared  the  mechanic  and  manufacturer  ;  he  had 
ripped  open  the  knapsacks  of  our  captured  soldiery,  robbing 
them  of  clothing,  money,  necessaries  of  life,  and  even  of  the 
instruments  of  their  surgeons.  The  Southern  people  considered 
that  they  were  opposing  an  enemy  who  had  proved  himself  a 
foe  to  mankind,  religion  and  civilization. 

The  venomous  spirit  of  Abolition  had  been  free  to  develop 
itself  in  the  growing  successes  of  the  Northern  arms.  It  is  a 
curious  commentary  on  the  faith  of  the  people  of  the  North, 
or  rather  a  striking  exposure  of  the  subserviency  of  all  the 
expressions  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  that  people  to  considera- 
tions of  expediency,  that,  in  the  beginning  of  hostilities,  even 
after  the  proclamation  of  war  by  President  Lincoln,  when  it  . 
was  yet  thought  important  to  affect  moderation,  fugitive  slaves 
from  Virginia  were  captured  in  the  streets  of  Washington,  and, 
by  the  direct  authority  of  the  Northern  government,  returned 
to  their  masters !  A  few  months  later,  negro  slaves  were  kid- 
napped from  their  masters  by  the  Federal  army,  under  the 
puerile  and  nonsensical  pretence  of  their  being  "  contraband  of 
war."  The  anti-slavery  purposes  of  the  war  rapidly  developed 
from  that  point.  The  Northern  journals  declared  that  the  ex- 
cision of  slavery  was  one  of  the  important  objects  of  the  war ; 
that  the  opportunity  was  to  be  taken  in  the  prosecution  of  hos- 
tilities to  crush  out  what  had  been  the  main  cause  of  difference, 
and  thus  to  assure  the  fruit  of  a  permanent  peace.  In  his 
message  to  the  Federal  Congress  in  December,  Mr.  Lincoln 


2»8  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

had  hinted  that  "  all  indispensable  means,"  must  be  employed 
to  preserve  the  Union.  An  order  was  published  by  the  War 
Department  making  it  the  occasion  of  a  court-martial  for  any 
army  officer  to  return  any  negro  slave  within  his  lines  to  his 
master.  It  was  followed  by  the  explanation  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
former  hint.  %^n  an  executive  message  to  the  Federal  Con- 
gress, the  policy  of  "the  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery," 
with  the  pretence  "  of  pecuniary  aid  '  to  States  adopting  such, 
policy,  was  advised ;  it  was  approved  in  the  House  of  Repre^ 
sentatives,  by  a  vote  *of  88  to  31 ;  and  about  the  same  time  a 
bill  was  introduced  into  the  Senate  for  fhe  forcible  emancipa- 
tion of  the  negro  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  was 
subsequently  passed. 

These  bitter  exhibitions  of  the  North  had  envemoned  the 
war ;  its  sanguinary  tides  rose  higher ;  its  battle-fields  emu- 
lated in  carnage  the  most  desperate  in  modern  history ;  flags 
of  truce  were  but  seldom  used,  and  the  amenities  of  intercourse 
between  belligerents  were 'often  slighted  by  rude  messages  of 
defiance.  Battles  had  become  frequent  and  really  bloody.  But 
they  were  no  longer  decisive  of  a  nation's  fate.  The  campaign 
covered  the  whole  of  a  huge  territory,  and  could  only  be  de- 
cided by  complicated  movements,  involving  great  expenditure 
of  troops  and  time. 

The  Southern  people,  however,  were  again  aroused,  and 
nothing  was  wanting  but  wisdom,  energy  and  capacity  on  the 
part  of  the  government  to  have  inaugurated  another  series  of 
brilliant  achievements,  such  as  those  which  rendered  illustrious 
the  first  months  of  the  war.  The  rush  of  men  to  the  battle- 
field, which  was  now  witnessed  in  every  part  of  the  South,  was 
beyond  all  former  example ;  and  if  the  government  had  met 
this  mighty  movement  of  the  people  with  a  corresponding 
amplitude  of  provision  and  organization,  the  cause  of  the 
South  might  have  been  reckoned  safe  beyond  peradventure. 

Unfortunately,  however,  President  Davis  was  not  the  man  to 
consult  the  sentiment  and  wisdom  of  the  people ;  he  desired 
to  signalize  the  infallibility  of  his  own  intellect  in  every  mea- 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  299 

sure  of  the  revolution,  and  to  identify,  from  motives  of  vanity, 
his  own  personal  genius  with  every  event  and  detail  of  the  re- 
markable' period  of  history  in  which  he  had  been  called  upon 
to  act.  This  imperious  conceit  seemed  to  swallow  up  every 
other  idea  in  his  mind.  By  what  was  scarcely  more  than  a 
constitutional  fiction,  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States 
was  the  head  of  the  army;  but  Mr.  Davis,  while  he  made 
himself  the  supreme  master  of  the  civil  -administration  of  the 
government,  so  far  as  to  take  the  smallest  details  within  his 
controul,  and  to  reduce  his  cabinet  officers  to  the  condition  of 
head  clerks,  insisted  also  upon  being  the  autocrat  of  the  army, 
controlling  the  plans  of  every  general  in  the  field,,  and  dic- 
tating to  him  the  precise  limits  of  every  movement  that  was 
undertaken.  Many  of  our  generals .  fretted  under  this  prag- 
matism of  an  executive,  who,  instead  of  attending  to  the  civil 
affairs  of  the  government  and  correcting  the  monstrous  abuses 
that  were  daily  pointed  out  by  the  newspapers  in  the  conduct 
of  the  departments,  was  unfortunately  possessed  with  the 
vanity  that  he  was  a  great  military  genius,  and  that  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  dictate,  from  his  cushioned  seat  •  in  Rich- 
mond, the  details  of  every  campaign  and  to  conform  every 
movement  in  the  field  to  the  invariable  formula  of  "the  defen- 
sive policy."  * 


*  The  following  extract  of  terse  criticism  on  offensive  and  defensive  war- 
fare is  taken  from  a  small  work  written  by  one  of  Napoleon's  generals  in 
1815,  and  revised  in  1855.  The  writer  could  not  have  written  with  more 
aptitude  to  the  existing  contest,  if  the  errours  and  unfortunate  demonstrations 
of  President  Davis'  defensive  policy  had  been  before  his  eyes:  "The  offensive 
is  the  proper  character  which  it  is  essential  to  give  to  every  war;  it  exalte 
the  courage  of  the  soldier;  it  disconcerts  the  adversary,  strips  from  lum  the 
initiative,  and  diminishes  his  means.  Do  not  wait  for  the  enemy  in  your  own 
ire-places,  go  always  to  seek  him  in  his  own  home,  when  you  will  find  oppor- 
tunity at  the  same  time  to  live  at  his  expense,  and  to  strip  from  him  his  re- 
sources. In  penetrating  his  territory,  commence  *by  acting,  era  masse  with  all 
forces,  and  be  sure  that  the  first  advantages  are  yours.  .  *  *  *  *  Never 
adopt  the  defensive  unless  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  do  otherwise.  If  you 
are  reduced  to  this  sad  extremity,  let  it  be  in  order  to  gain  time,  to  wait  for 


300  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

In  a  revolutionary  leader,  something  more  is  wanted  than 
scholarly  and  polished  intellect.  The  history  of -the  world 
shows  that,  in  such  circumstances,  the-  plainest  men,  in  point 
of  learning  and  scholarship  have  been  the  most  successful, 
and  that  their  elements  of  success  have  been  quick  apprehen- 
sion, practical  judgment,  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and, 
above  all,  a  disposition  to  consult  the  aggregate  wisdom  of  the 
people  and  to  increase  their  stores  of  judgment,  by  deigning 
to  learn  from  every  possible  source  of  practical  wisdom  within' 
their  reach. 

President  Davis  was  not  a  man  to  consult,  even  in  the  small- 
est matter  of  detail,  the  wisdom  of  others,  or  to  relax  his  pur- 
poses or  personal  preferences,*  at  the  instance  of  any  consider- 
ation that  might  compromise  him  in  respect  of  conceit  or' 
punctilio.  About  nothing  connected  with  the  new  government 
had  the  popular  will  been  so  clearly  and  emphatically  ex- 
pressed, as  the  necessity  of  a  re-organization  of  the  cabinet. 
Nobody  expected  those  offices  to  be  permanently  filled  by  the 
provisional  appointees.  They  were  put  there  under  an  emer- 
gency ;  in  some  instances  simply  as  compliments  to  certain 
States,  and  without  the  slightest  expectation  that  they  would 
be  imposed  on  the  country  for  seven  long  years.  Had  the 
Union  continued,  and  Mr.  Davis  been  elected  to  the  Presi- 
dency, the  selection  of  such  a  cabinet  of  intellectual  pigmies 
from  the  nation  at  large  would  have  astounded  the  public.  The 
two  great  branches  of  the  administration — the  War  and  the 
Navy  Departments — were  in  the  hands  of  men  who  had  neither 
the  respect  nor  the  confidence  of  the  public.  Mr.  Benjamin, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  had  been  seriously  injured,  by  a  number 
of  doubtful  official  acts,  in  the  public  estimation,  which  never 
held  him  higher  than  a  smart,  expeditious  and  affable  official. 

Mr.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had,  in  the  old  gov- 
^ •  •       , 

your  reinforcements,  drill  your  soldiers,  strengthen  your  alliances,  draw  the 
enemy  upon  bad  ground,  lengthen  the  base  of  his  operations ;  and  let  an 
ulteriour  design  to  take  the  offensive  be  without  ceasing  the  end  of  all  your  actions." 


THE   FIRST  YEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  301 

ernment,  in  which  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Naval  Affairs,  been  the  butt  of  every  naval  officer  in  the 
country  for  his  ignorance,  his  sang  froid,  his  slow  and  blun- 
dering manner,  and  the  engrossment  of  his  mind  by  provisions 
to  provide  gratifications  for  his  social  habits. 

President  Davis  refused  to  concede  anything  to  public  senti- 
ment with  reference  to  the  re-organization  of  his  cabinet ;  al- 
though it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  demand  for  change  was 
made  not  by  a  popular  clamour,  which  a,  wise  ruler  would  have 
done  right  to  disregard  and  to  contemn,  but  by  that  quiet,  con- 
servative and  educated  sentiment  which  no  magistrate  in  a  re- 
publican government  had  the  right  to  disregard.  Mr.  Mallory 
was  retained  at  the  head  of  the  Navy ;  Mr.  Benjamin  was 
promoted  to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  State,  and  the  only 
materia^  change  in  the  cabinet  was  the  introduction  as"  Secre- 
tary of  War  of  General  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  a  gentleman 
whose  sterling  personal  worth  made  him  acceptable  to  all  par- 
ties, and  promised  at  least  some  change  for  the  better  in  the 
administration  of  a  government  that  had  been  eaten  up  by  .ser- 
vility, and  had  illustrated  nothing  more  than  the  imperious 
conceit  of  a  single  man. 

The  Confederate  Congress  had  passed  a  bill  to  create  the 
office  of  commanding  general,  who  should  take  charge  of  the 
military  movements  of  the  war.  The  bill  was  vetoed  by  Presi- 
dent Davis;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  unsubstantial  show  of 
compliance  which  had  been  made  with  reference  to  the  cabinet 
was  repeated  with  reference  to  the  commanding  general,  and 
Mr.  Davis  appointed  Gen.  Lee  to  the  nominal  office  of  com- 
manding general,  the  order,  however,  which  nominated  him 
providing  that  he  should  "act  under  the  direction  of  the  Presi- 
dent." Thus  it  was  that  Mr.  Davis  kept  in  his  hand  the 
practical  controul  of  every  military  movement  on  the  theatre 
of  the  war ;  and  it  was  very  curious,  indeed,  that  the  servile 
neAvspapers,  which  applauded  in  him  this  single  and  imperious 
controul  of  the  conduct  of  the  war,  were  unmindful  of  the  plain 
and  consistent  justice  of  putting  on  his  shoulders  that  exclu- 


302  THE  FIRST  YEAH   OF  THE  WAR. 

sive  responsibility  for  disasters  which  is  inseparable  from  the 
honours  of  practical  autocracy. 

"We  have  referred  to  the  dark  period  and  uncompromising 
auspices  in  ■which  the  permanent  government  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  was  inaugurated.  Across  the  dreary  tract  of  dis- 
aster there  were,  however,  sudden  and  fitful  gleams  of  light, 
such  as  the  undaunted  courage  of  our  troops  and  the  variable 
accidents  of  war  might  give  in  such  circumstances  of  misgov- 
ernment  as  were  adverse  or  embarrassing  to  a  grand  scale  of 
successes.  Of  these  and  of  the  disasters  mingled  with  them 
we  shall  proceed  to  treat  in  the  progress  of  the  narrative  of 
the  external  events  of  the  war. 

THE  NAVAL  ENGAGEMENT  IN  HAMPTON  ROADS. 

In  the  progress  of  the  war,  attention  had  been  directed,  on 
both  sides,  to  different  classes  of  naval  structure,  composed  of 
iron,  such  as  floating  batteries,  rams,  &c.  On  the  12th  of 
October,  an  affair  had  occurred  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  in  which  a  partially  submerged  iron  ram,  the  Ma- 
nassas, attacked  the  Federal  blockading  fleet  at  the  head  of 
the  Passes,  sinking  one  of  them,  the  Preble,  and  driving  the 
remainder  of  the  fleet  out  of  the  river.  This,  the  first  of  our 
naval  exploits,  was  to  be  followed  by  adventures  on  a  larger 
and  more  brilliant  scale. 

As  far  back  as  the  month  of  June,  1861,  the  little  energy 
displayed  by  the  Navy  Department  had  been  employed  in 
building  a  single  iron-clad  naval  structure.  In  the  destruction 
of  the  navy  yard  at  Norfolk,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
the  steam  frigate  Merrimac  had  been  burned  and  sunk,  and 
her  engine  greatly  damaged  by  the  enemy.  However,  'the 
bottom  of  the  hull,  boilers.,  and  heavy  and  costly  parts  of  the 
engine  were  but  little  injured,  and  it  was  proposed  of  these  to 
construct  a  casemated  vessel  with  inclined  iron-plated  sides 
and  submerged  ends.  The  novel  plan  of  submerging  the  ends 
of  the  ship  and  the  eaves  of  the  casement  was  the  peculiar  and 
distinctive  feature  of  the  Virginia,  as  the  new  structure  was 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  303 

called.  It  was  never  before  adopted.  The  resistance  of  iron 
plates  to  heavy  ordnance,  whether  presented  in  vertical  planes 
or  at  low  angles  of  inclination,  had  been  investigated  in  Eng- 
land before  the  Virginia  was  commenced ;  but,  in  the  absence 
of  accurate  data,  the  inclination  of  the  plates  of  the  Virginia 
and  their  thickness  and  form  had  to  be  determined  by  actual 
experiment. 

With  the  completion  of  the  Virginia,  the  Confederate  squad- 
ron in  the  James  River,  under  command  of  Flag  Officer  Frank- 
lin Buchanan,  was  as  follows :  Steamer  Virginia,  ten  guns ; 
steamer  Patrick  Henry,  twelve  guns;  steamer  Jamestown,  two 
guns;  and  gun-boats  Teazer,  Beaufort  and  Raleigh,  each  one 
gun — total,  27  guns. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  March,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
the  Virginia  left  the  navy  yard  at  Norfolk,  accompanied  by 
the  Raleigh  and  Beaufort,  and  proceeded  to  Newport  NeAvs  to 
engage  the  enemy's  frigates  Cumberland  and  Congress,  and 
their  gun-boats  and  shore  batteries.  On  passing  Sewell's 
Point,  Capt.  Buchanan  made  a  speech  to  the  men.  It  was 
laconic.  He  said:  "My  men,  you  are  now  about  to  face  the 
enemy.  You  shall  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  not  fight- 
ing at  close  quarters.  Remember  you  fight  for  your  homes 
and  your  country.  You  see  those  ships — you  must  sink  them. 
I  need  not  ask  you  to  do  it.     I  know  you  will  do  it." 

At  this'  time,  the  Congress  was  lying  close  to  the  batteries 
at  Newport  News,  a  little  below  them.  The  Cumberland  was 
lying  immediately  opposite  the  batteries.  The  Virginia  passed 
the  Congress,  giving  her  a  broadside,  which  was  returned  with 
very  little  effect,  and  made  straight  for  the  Cumberland.  In 
the  midst  of  a  heavy  fire  from  the  Cumberland,  Congress,  gun- 
boats and  shore  batteries  concentrated  on  the  Virginia,  she 
stood  rapidly  on  towards  the  Cumberland,  which  ship  Capt. 
Buchanan  had  determined  to  sink  with  the  prow  of  the  Vir- 
ginia. On  board  the  Yankee  frigate,  the  crew  were  watching 
the  singular  iron  roof  bearing  down  upon  them,  making* all 
manner  of  derisive  and  contemptuous  remarks,  many  of  them 


30-4  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  "THE   WAR. 

aloud,  and  within  hearing  of  those  on  board  the  Virginia, 
such  as:  "Well,  there  she  comes."  "What  the  devil  does 
she  look  like  ? "  "What  in  h-11  is  she  after ? "  " Let's  look  at 
that  great  Secesh  curiosity,"  etc.  These  remarks  were  cut 
short  by  a  discharge  from  the  Virginia's  bow  gun,  which  swept 
from  one  end  of  the  Cumberland's  deck  to  the  other,  killing 
and  wounding  numbers  of  the  poor  deluded  wretches.  In  a 
few  minutes  thereafter,  the  Virginia  had  struck  her  on  her 
starboard  bow ;  the  crash  below  the  water  was  distinctly  heard, 
and,  in  fifteen  minutes  thereafter,  the  Yankee  vessel,  against 
whom  an  old  grudge  had  long  existed  for  her  participation  in 
the  burning  of  the  navy  yard,  sunk  beneath  the  water,  her  guns 
being  fought  to  the  last,  and  her  flag  flying  at  her  peak. 

Just  after  the  Cumberland  sunk,  Commander  Tucker  was 
seen  standing  down  James  River  under  full  steam,  accompanied 
by  the  Jamestown  and  Teazer.  Their  escape  was  miraculous, 
as  they  were  under  a  galling  fire  of  solid  shot,  shell,  grape  and 
canister,  a  number  of  which  passed  through  the  vessels  without 
doing  any  serious  injury,  except  to  the  Patrick  Henry,  through 
whose  boiler  a  shot  passed,  scalding  to  death  four  persons  and 
wounding  others. 

Having  sunk  the  Cumberland,  the  Virginia  turned  her  atten- 
tion to  the  Congress.  She  was  some  time  in  getting  her  proper 
position,  in  consequence  of  the  shoalness  of  the  'water.  To 
succeed  in  this  object,  Captain  Buchanan  was  obliged  to  run 
the  ship  a  short  distance  above  the  batteries  on  James  River  in 
order  to  wind  her.  During  all  the  time  her  keel  was  in  the 
mud,  and,  of  Sourse,  she  moved  but  slowly.  The  vessel  was 
thus  subjected  twice  to  all  the  heavy  guns  of  the  batteries  in 
passing  up  and  down  the  river. 

It  appears  that  while  the  Virginia  was  engaged  in  getting 
her  position  it  was  believed  on  the  Congress  that  she  had  hauled 
off.  The  Yankees  left .  their  guns  and  gave  three  cheers. 
Their  elation  was  of  short  duration.  A  few  minutes  afterwards 
the  Virginia  opened  upon  the  frigate,  she  having  run  into  shoal 
water.     The  "Southern  bugaboo,"  into  whom  the  broadside 


THE   FIRST  YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  305 

of  the  Congress  had  been  poured  without  effect,  not  even 
faizing  her  armour,  opened  upon  the  Yankee  frigate,  causing 
such  carnage,  havoc  and  dismay  on  her  decks,  that  her  colours 
were  in  a  few  minutes  hauled  down.  A  white  flag  was  hoisted 
at  the  gaft  and  half-mast,  and  another  at  the  main.  Numbers 
of  the  crew  instantly  took  to  their  boats  and  landed.  '  Our  fire 
immediately  ceased.  The  Beaufort  was  run  alongside,  with 
instructions  from  Captain  Buchanan  to  take  possession  of  the 
Congress,  secure  the  officers  as  prisoners,  allow  the  crew  to 
land  and  burn  the  ship.  Lieutenant  Parker,  .commanding  the 
Beaufort,  received  the  flag  of  the  Congress  and  her  surrender 
from  Commander  William  Smith  and  Lieutenant  Pendergrast, 
with  the  side  arms  of  ijiese  officers.  After  having  delivered 
themselves  as  prisoners  of  war  on  board  the  Beaufort,  they 
were  allowed,  at  their  own  request,  to  return,  to  the  Congress 
to  assist  in  removing  the  wounded  to  the  Beaufort.  They 
never  returned,  although  they  had  pledged  their  honour  to  do 
so,  and  in  witness  of  that  pledge  had  left  their  swords  with 
Lieut.  Alexander,  on  board  the  Beaufort. 

The  Beaufort  had  been  compelled  to  leave  the  Congress 
under  a  perfidious  fire  opened  from  the  shore,  while  the  frigate 
had  two  white  flags  flying,  raised  by  her  own  crew.  Deter- 
mined that  the  Congress  should  not  again  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  Captain  Buchanan  remarked:  "That  ship  must 
be  burned,"  when  the  suggestion  was  gallantly  responded  to 
by  Lieutenant  Minor,  who  volunteered  to  take  a  boat  and  burn 
her.  He  haVl  scarcely  reached  within  fifty  yards  of  the  Con- 
gress, when  a  deadly  fire  was  opened  upon  him.  wounding  him 
severely  and  several  of  his  men.  On  witnessing  this  vile 
treachery,  Captain  Buchanan  instantly  recalled  the  boat,  and 
ordered  the  Congress  to  be  destroyed  by  hot  shot  and  incendiary 
shell.  The  illumination  of  the  scene  was  splendid;  the  explo- 
sion of  the  frigate's  magazine  a  little  past  midnight  aroused 
persons  asleep  in  Norfolk  and  signalled  to  them  the  complete- 
ness Of  our  victory. 

In  the  perfidious  fire  from  the  shore,  Captain  Buchanan  had 
20 


306  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

been  disabled  by  a  severe  wound  in  the  thigh  from  a  Minie 
ball,  and  the  command  of  the  ship  had  been  transferred  to 
Lieut.  Catesby  Jones,  with  orders  to  fight  her  as  long  as  the 
men  could  stand  to  their  guns.  At  tins'  time  the  steam  frigate 
Minnesota  and  Roanoke,  and  the  sailing  frigate  St.  Lawrence, 
which  had  come  up  from  Old  Point,  opened  their  fire  upon  the 
Virginia.  The  Minnesota  grounded  in  the  North  channel, 
where,  unfortunately,  the  shoalness  of  the  channel  prevented 
the  near  approach  of  the  Virginia..  She  continued,  however, 
to  fire  upon  the  Minnesota,  until  the  pilots  declared  .that  it  was 
no  longer  safe  to  remain  in  that  position,  when  she  returned  by 
the  South  channel  (the  middle  ground  being  necessarily  between 
the  Virginia  and  Minnesota,  and  the  £>t.  Lawrence  and  Roan- 
oke having  retreated  under  the  guns  of  Old  Point)  and  again 
had  an  opportunity  to  open  upon  her  enemy.  Night  falling 
about  this 'time,  the  Virginia  was  anchored  oft'  Sewell's  Point. 
The  next  morning  (Sunday)  the  contest  occurred  between 
the  Monitor  (the  Ericsson  battery)  and  the  Virginia..  The 
Yankee  frigates,  the  Roanoke  and  St.  Lawrence,  had  retreated 
to  Old  Point — "'the  apothecary  shop,"  as  it  was  facetiously 
styled  by  our  men — and  the  Monitor  had  gone  up  on  Saturday 
night  to  assist  the  Minnesota,  which  was  still  aground.  The 
daylight  revealed  lying  near  the  Minnesota  the  celebrated  iron 
battery,  a  wonderful  looking  structure  that  was  justly  compared 
to  a  prodigious  "cheese-box  on  a  plank,"  said  "cheese-box" 
being  of  a  Plutonian  blackness.  At  8  o'clock  the  Virginia  rah 
down  to  engage  the  Monitor.  The  contest  continued  for  the 
space  of  two  hours,  the  distance  between  the  two  vessels  vary- 
ing from  half  a  mile  to  close  quarters,  in  which  the  two  iron 
vessels  were  almost  side  to  side,  belching  out  their  fire,  the 
heavy  thugs  on  the  iron  sides  of  each  being  the  only  effect  of 
the  terrific  cannonade.  Again  and  again  the  strange  looking 
battery,  with  its  black,  revolving  cupola,  fled  before  the  Vir- 
ginia. It  was,  as  one  of  our  officers  remarked,  "like  fighting 
a  ghost."  Now  she  ran  down  towards  Old  Point,  now  back 
towards  Newport  News,  now  approached  to  fire,  and  then  ran 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF*  THE   WAR.  307 

away  to  load.  The  rapidity  of  the  movements  of  the  Monitor 
gave  her  the  only  advantage  -which  she  had  in  the  contest. 
.The  great  length  and  draft  of  the  Virginia  rendered  it  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  work'  her.  Once  she  got  aground.  It  was  a 
moment  of  terrible  suspense  to  the  noble  ship,  against  which 
the  combined  batteries  of  the  Minnesota  and  Monitor  were  now 
directed.  The  shot  fell  like  hail,  the  shells  flew  like  rain  drops, 
and  slowly,  steadily  she  returned  the  fire.  There  lay  the 
Minnesota  with  two  tugs  alongside.  Here,  there,  and  every- 
where, was  the  black  "cheese-box."  The  Virginia  still  fired 
with  the  same  deliberate  regularity  as  before.  Presently  a 
great  white  column  of  smoke  shot  tup  above  the  Minnesota, 
higher  and  higher,  fuller  and  fuller  in  its  volume,  and  beyond 
doubt,  carried  death  all  along  her  decks,  for  the  boiler  of' one 
of  the  tugs  had  been  exploded  by  a  shot,  and  that  great  white 
cloud  canopy  was  the  steam  thus  liberated. 

.In  fifteen  minutes  the  Virginia  had  got  off  and  was  again  in 
motion.  The  pilots  declared  that  it  was  impossible  to  get 
nearer  the  Minnesota,  which  was  believed  to  be  entirely 
disabled.  The  ATirginia  had  twice  silenced  the  fire  of  the 
Monitor,  and  had  once  brushed  her,  narrowly  mis'sing  the 
coveted  opportunity  of  sinking  her  with  her  prow,  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  contest  being  declined  by  the  Monitor  having 
run  into  shoal  water,  the  Virginia  ceased  firing  at  noon  and 
proceeded  to  Norfolk.  • 

She  steamed  back  amid  the  cheers  of  victory.  In  the 
direction  of  Newport  Sews  could  be  seen  the  spars  of  the  Cum- 
berland above  the  river  she  had  so  long  insolently  barred ;  but 
of  her  consort  there  was  not  even  a  timber  head  visible  to  tell 
her  story.  This  was  not  all  the  Virginia  had  done.  The 
Minnesota  was  disabled  and  riddled  with  shot.  Within  eight 
and  forty  hours  the  Virginia  had  successfully  encountered  the 
whole  naval  force  of  the  enemy  in  the  neighborhood  of  Norfolk, 
amounting  to  2,890  men  and  230  guns;  had  sunk  the  Cumber- 
land, probably  the  most  formidable  vessel  of  her  class  in  the 
Federal  navy,  consigning  to  a  watery  grave  the  larger  portion 


•308  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

of  her  crew  of  360  men;  had  destroyed  the  crack  sailing 
frigate. Congress,  "with  her  enormous  armament;  and  had  crip- 
pled in  the  action  the  Minnesota,  one  of  the  best  steamers  of. 
the  enemy's  navy.  Our  casualties,  were  two  killed  and  nineteen 
wounded,  and  the  Virginia  had  come  out  of  the  action  with  the 
loss  of  her  prow,  starboard  anchor  and  all  her  boa.ts,  with  her 
smoke  stack  riddled  with  bails  and  the  muzzles  of  two  of  her 
guns  shot  away,  but  with  no  serious  damage  to  her  wonderful 
armour,  that  had  sustained  a  cannonade  such  as  never  before 
was  inflicted  on  a  single  vessel. 

The  exploits  of  the  Virginia  created  immense  excitement  in 
the  North  and  a  marked  interest  in  Europe,'  as  illustrating  a 
novel  and  brilliant  experiment  in  naval  architecture.  As  an  ex- 
i  ample  of  the  sharp  and  practical  energy  of  the  Northern  govern- 
ment, and  its  readiness  to  avail  itself  of  all  means  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  five  days  after  the 
occurrence  of  the  Confederate  victory  in  Hampton  Roads,. a 
bill  was  introduced  into  the  Senate  at  Washington,  appro- 
priating nearly  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  for  the  construction 
of  additional  iron-clad  vessels. 

In  Great  Britain  and  France,  and  on  the  Continent  generally, 
public  attention  was  strained  to  a  pitch  of  fearful  anxiety  on 
the  subject  of  changes  in  naval  architecture,  and  their  adap- 
tation to  the  new  exigencies  that  had  arisen  in  warfare  on  the 
water.  AJJ  the  European  governments  that  had  a  strip  of  sea- 
coast  busied  themselves  to  turn  to  profit  the  lesson  the  Virginia 
had  given  them.  Denmark  voted  a  million  of  rix  dollars  for 
the  construction  of  iron-plated  vessels,  whilst  Sweden  sent  its 
Crown  Prince  to  assist  at  the  trial  trip. of  the  French 'frigate 
La  Couronne,  the  largest  iron  war  steamer  afloat.  Italy  had 
already  some  very  fine  iron  vessels-of-war,  and  her  citizens 
were  hard  at  work  on  others.  Austria  was  officially  informed 
of  the  revolution  in  warfare  at  sea  on  the  very  day  that  an 
imperial  commission  reported  her  huge  land  fortresses  as 
defiant  of  every  known  means  of  assault,"  and  the  Prussians, 
people  and   government,  regard   the  engagement   in   Ilamp- 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  309* 

ton  Roads  as  one  of  "the  most  important  events"  of  the 
day. 

The  Confederate  States  government  might  have  learned 
some  instructive  lessons  from  the  victory  achieved  by  the  Vir- 
ginia. Instead  of  one  such  vessel,  we  might  have  had  ten,  had 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Mallory,  possessed  the  ability 
and  zeal  essential  to  his  responsible  position.  The  cost  was 
not  a  matter  of  the  slightest  consideration.  A  vessel  built  at 
an  expense  of  half  a  million  was  cheap  enough,  when  in  her 
first  essay  she  hud  destroyed  thrice  her  value  of  the  enemy's 
property.  The  State  of  North  Carolina  and  the  Confederacy 
had  spent  at  least  a  million  of  dollars  already  in  futile  attempts 
to  defend  the  eastern  coast  of  that  State.  If  that  sum  had 
been  expended  in  building  iron-clad  vessels  suitable  to  the 
waters  on  the  Carolina  coast,  all  of  our  disasters  in  that 
direction  might  have  been  prevented,  except,  perhaps,  the  one 
at  Hatteras,  and  our  ports  on  that  portion  of  our  coast  kept 
open,  at  least  partially,  if  not  entirely.  In  no  possibly  better 
manner  could  ten  or  twenty  millions  of  dollars  have  been 
expended  than  by  augmenting  the  power  of  our  infant  navy. 

While  the  Virginia  was  achieving  her  memorable  victory  in 
Hampton  Roads,  a  battle  had  commenced  in  the  extreme 
northwest  portion  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  which  had  but 
one  parallel  as  to  its  duration,  and  probably  few  as  to  its.  des- 
perate character,  since  the  opening  of  the  Avar.  #  9 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  in  a  previous  chapter,  we  left 
Gen.  Price  about  the  close  of  the  year  1SG1  occupying  Spring- 
field, Missouri,  for  the  purpose  of  being  within  reach  of  sup- 
plies, and  protecting  that  portion  of  the  State  from  domestic 
depredations  and  Federal  invasion.  About  the  latter  part  of 
January,  it  became  evident  that  the  enemy  were  concentrating 
in  force  at  Rolla,  and  shortly  thereafter  they  occupied  Leba- 
non. Believing  that  this  movement  could  be  for  no>  other  pur- 
pose than  to  attack  him,  and  knowing  that  his  command  was 
inadequate  for  such  successful  resistance  as  the  interests  of  the 
army  and  the  cause  demanded,  General  Price  appealed  to  the 


810  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   "WAR. 

i 

commanders  of  the  Confederate  troops  in  Arkansas  to  come  to 
his  assistance.  He  held  his  position  to  the  very  last  moment. 
On  the  l'2th  of  February,  his  pickets  were  driven  in  and  re- 
ported the  enemy  advancing  upon  him- in  force.  Gen.  Price 
commenced  retreating  at  once.  He  .reached  Cassville  with  loss 
unworthy  of  mention  in  any  respect.  Here  the  enemy  in 
his  rear  commenced  a  series  of  attacks,  running  through  four 
days.  Retreating  and  fighting  all  the  way  to  the  Cross  Hol- 
lows, in  Arkansas,  the  command  of  Gen.  Price,  under  the  most 
exhausting  fatigue,  all  that  time,  with  but  little  rest  for  either 
man  or  harse,  and  no  sleep,  sustained  themselves,  and  came 
through,  repulsing  the  enemy  u*pon  every  occasion,  with  great 
determination  and  gallantry. 

Gen.  Van  Dorn  had  recently  been  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Confederate  forces  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  district.  A 
happy  accord  existed  between  him  and  Gen.  Price,  and  a  pri- 
vate correspondence  that  had  ensued  between  these  two  mili- 
tary chieftains,  on  the  occasion  of  Gen.  Van  Dorn's  appoint- 
ment by  President  Davis  to  take  command  in  Arkansas  and 
Missouri;  not  only  showed  a  spirit  of  mutual  appreciation  and 
compliment  highly  honorable  to  both,  but  developed  a  singu- 
lar' similarity  of  views  ( considering  that  the  letter  of  each  was 
written  without  knowledge  of  that  of  the  other)  with  reference 
to  tlje  conduct  of  the  war. 

Learning  that  Gen..  Price  had  rapidly  fallen  back  from 
Springfield  before  a  superiour  force  of  the  enemy,  and  was 
endeavoring  to  form  a  junction  with  the  division  of  Gen. 
McCulloch  at  Boston  Mountain,  Gen.  Van  Dorn,  who  was  then 
at  Pocahontas,  Arkansas,  resolved  to  go  in  person  to  take 
command  of  the  combined  forces  of  Price  and  McCulloch. 
He  reached  their  headquarters  on  the  3d  of  March. 

THE   BATTLE    OF   ELK   HORN. 

The  enemy,  under  the  command  of  Gens.  Curtis  and  Siegel, 
had  halted  on  Sugar  Creek,  fifty-five  miles  .distant,  where,  with 
a  force  variously  estimated  at  from  seventeen  to  twenty-four 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  311 

thousand,  he  was  waiting. still  further  reinforcements  before 
he  -would  advance.  Qen.  Van  Dorn  resolved  to  make  the  at- 
tack at  once.  He  sent  for  Gen.  Albert  Pike  to  join  him  with 
his  command  of  Indian  -warriors,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the 
4th  of  March,  moved  with  the  divisions  of  Price  and  McCul- 
loch,  by  way  of  Fayetteville  and  Bentonville,  to  attack  the 
enemy's  camp  on  Sugar  Creek.  The  whole  force  under  his 
command  was  about  sixteen  thousand  men. 

At  Bentonville,  General  Siegel'a  division,  seven- thousand 
strong,  narrowly  escaped  a  surprise  and  fell  back,  our  advance 
skirmishing  With  the  rear  guard  to  Sugar  Creek,  about  seven 
miles  beyond. 

Ou  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  March,  Gem  Van  Dorn  made 
disposition  for  attack.  Before  eleven  o'clock,  the  action  had 
become  general.  The  attack  was  made  from  the  north  and 
west,  the .  enemy  being  completely  surrounded.  About  two 
o'clock,  Gen.  Van  Dorn  sent  a  dispatch  to  Gen.  McCulloch, 
who  was  attacking  the  enemy's  left,  proposing  to  him  to  hold 
his  position,  while  Price's  left  advance  might  be  thrown  for- 
ward over  the  whole  line,  and  easily  end  the  battle.  Before 
the  dispatch  was  penfled,  Gen.  McCulloch  had  fallen,  and  the 
victorious  advance  of  his  division  upon  the  strong  position  of 
the  enemy's  front  was  checked  by  the  fall  of  himself  and  Gen. 
Mcintosh,  also,  in  the  heat  of  the  battle  and  in  the  full  tide  of 
success.  It  appears  that  two  musket  balls,  by  killing  the  gal- 
lant McCulloch  and  Mcintosh,  had  prevented  us  from  gaining 
a  great  victory.  Notwithstanding  the  confusion  that  succeeded 
this  untimely  occurrence,  Gen.  Van  Dorn  pressed  forward  with 
the  attack,  sustained  by  the  resistless  charges  of  the  Missouri 
division.  At  nightfall,  the  enemy  had  been  driven  back  from 
the  field  of  battle,  and  the  Confederates  held  his  entrenchments 
and  the  greater  part  of  his  commissary  stores,  on  which  our 
half-famished  men  fed.  Our  troops  slept  upon  their  arms 
nearly  a  mile  beyond  the  point  where  the  enemy  had  made  his 
last  stand,  and  Gen.  Van  Dorn's  headquarters  for  the  night 
were  at  the  Elk  Horn  Tavern — from  which  locality  the  battle- 


312  THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

field   derived  its  name.     "We  had  taken  during  the  day  seven 
cannon  and  about  two  hundred  prisoners. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  the  enemy,  having  taken  a 
strong  position  during  the  night,  re-opened  the  fight.  The 
action'  soon  became  general,  and  continued  until  about  half- 
past  nine  o'clock,  by  which  time  General  Van  Dorn  had  com- 
pleted his  arrangements  to  withdraw  his  forces.  Finding  that 
his  right  wing  was  much,  disorganized,  and  that  the  batteries 
"were,  one  after  another,  retiring  from  the  field,  with  every  shot 
expended,  General  Van  Dorn  had  determined  t6  withdraw  his 
forces  in  the  direction  of  their  supplies.  This  was  accom- 
plished with  almost  perfect  success.  The  ambulances,  crowded 
•with  the  wounded,  were  sent  in  advance ;  a  portion  of  McCul- 
loch's  division  was  placed  in  position  to  follow,  wThile  Gen.  Van 
Dorn  disposed  of  his  remaining  force  as  best  f  to  deceive  the 
enemy  as  to  his  intention,  and  to  hold  him  in  check-while  exe- 
cuting it.  An  attempt  was  made  by  the  enemy  to  follow  the 
retreating  column.  It  was  effectually  checked,  however,  and, 
about  2  P.  M.,  the  Confederates  encamped  about  six  miles  < 
from  the  field  of  battle,  all  -of  the  artillery  and  baggage  join- 
ing the  army  in  safety.  They  brought  a^vay  from  the  field  of 
battle  three  hundred  prisoners,  four  cannon  and  three  baggage 
wagons. 

Our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded- was  stated  by  General  Van 
Dorn  to  be  about  six  hundred,  as  nearly  as  could  be  ascer- 
tained, while  that  of  the  enemy  was  conjectured  to  be  more 
than  seven  hundred  killed  and  at  least  an  equal  number 
wounded.  Gen.  Curtis,  in  his  official  report,  gives  no  state- 
ment of  his  loss,  but  simply  remarks  that  it  was  heavy.  The 
entire  engagement  had  extended  over  the  space  of  three  days, 
the  Gth,  7th  and  8th  of  March.  The  gallantry  of  our  soldiers 
had  been  unrivalled.  More  than  half  of  our  troops  were  raw 
levies,  armed  with  shot  guns  and  country  rifles.  The  enemy 
■were  armed  with  superiour  guns  of  the  latest  patents,  such  as 
revolving  rifles,  sabre  bayonets,  rifled  cannon,  mounted  how- 
itzers, &c.     Our  army  had  forced  them  by  inches  from  one. 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  313 

position  to  another,  and,  although  compelled  to  fall  back  at 
last,  were  able  to  make  their  determination  good  never  to  per- 
mit the  enemy  to  advance  South. 

The  Indian  regiments  under  {xen.  Tike,  had  not  come  up  in 
time  to  take  any  important  part  in  the  battle.  Some  of  the 
red  men  behaved  well,  and  a  portion  of  them  assisted  in  taking 
a  battery;  but  they  were  difficult  to  manage  in  the  deafening 
roar  of  artillery  to  which  they  were  unaccustomed,  and  were 
naturally  amazed  at  the  sight  of  guns-  that  ran  on  wheels. 
They  'knew  what  to  do  with  the  rifle ;  they  we're  accustomed 
to  sounds  of  battle  as  loud  as  their  own  war  whoop  ;  and  the 
amazement  of  these  simple  children  of  the  forest  may  be  ima- 
gined at  the  sight  of  such  roaring,  deafening,  crashing  mon- 
sters as  twelve-pounders  running  around  on  wheels.  Gen.  Van 
Dorn,  in  his  official  report  of  the  battle,  does  not  mention  that 
any  assistance  was  derived  from  the  Indians — an  ally  that  had, 
perhaps,  cost  us  much  more  trouble,  expense  and  annoyance 
than  their  services  in  modern  warfare  could,  under  any  circum- 
stances, be  worth. 

In  the  action,  the  Missouri  troops,  from  the  noble  veteran, 
who  had  led  them  so  long,  down  to  the  meanest  private,  be- 
haved with. a  courage,  the  fire  and  devotion  of  which  never,  for 
a  moment,  slackened.  The  personal  testimony  of  Gen.  Van 
Dorn  to  their  noble  conduct  was  a  just  and  magnanimous  trib- 
ute. He  wrote  to  the  government  at  Richmond  :  "  During  the 
whole  of  this  engagement,  I  was  with  the  Missourians  under 
Price,  and'  I  have  never  seen  better  fighters  than  these  Mis- 
souri troops,  or  more  gallant  leaders  than  Gen.  Price  and  his 
officers.  From  the  first. to  the  last  shot,  they  continually 
rushed  on,  and  never  yielded  an  inch  they  had  won  ;  and  when 
at  last  the}7  received  orders  to  fall  back,  they  retired  steadily 
and  with  cheers.  Gen.  Price  received  a  severe  wound  in  the 
action,  but  would  neither  retire,  from  the  field  nor  cease  to 
expose  his  life  to  danger." 

Nor  is  this  all  the  testimony  to  the  heroism  of  Gen.  Price 
on  the  famous  battle-fields  of  Elk  Horn.     Some  incidents  are 


314  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

related  to  us  by  an  officer  of  his  conduci  in  the  retreat  that 
show  aspects  of  heroism  more  engaging  than  even  those  of 
reckless  bravery.  In  the  progress  of  the  retreat,  writes  an 
officer,  "  every  few  hundred  ^ards  we  would  overtake  some 
wounded  soldier.  As  soon  as  he  would  see  the  old  general,  he- 
would  cry  out,  'General,  I  am  wounded!'  Instantly  some 
vehicle  was  ordered  to  stop,  and  the  poor  soldier's  wants  cared 
for.  Again  and  again  it  occurred,  until  our  conveyances  were 
crowded  with  the  wounded.  Another  one  cried  out,  '  General, 
I  am  wounded !'  The  general's  head  drooped  upon  his  breast, 
and  his  eyes — bedimmed  with  tears — were  thrown  up,  and  he 
looked  in  front,  but  could  see  no  place  to  put  his  poor  soldier. 
He  discovered  something  on  wheels  in  front,  and  commanded : 
'  Halt,  and  put  this  wounded  soldier  up ;  by  G-d,  I  will  save 
my  wounded,  if  I  lose  the  whole  army!'  This  explains  why 
the  old  man's  poor  soldiers  love  him  so  well." 

Although,  in  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn,  our  forces  had  been 
compelled  to  retire,  and  the  affair  was  proclaimed  in  all  parts 
of  the  North  as  a  splendid  victory  of  their  arms,  there  is  no 
doubt,  in  the  light  of  history,  that  the  substantial  fruits  of  vic- 
tory were  with  the  Confederates.  The  enemy  had  set  out  on 
a  march  of  invasion,  with  the  avowed  determination  to  subju- 
gate Arkansas  and  capture  Fort  Smith.  But  after  the  shock 
of  the  encounter  at  Elk  Horn,  he  was  forced  to  fall  back  into 
Missouri,  leaving  several  hundred  prisoners  in  our  hands,  and 
more  than  two  thousand  killed  and  wounded  on  the  field.  The 
total  abandonment  of  their  enterprise  of  subjugation  in  Ark- 
ansas is  the  .most  conclusive  evidence  in  the  world,  that  the 
Federals  were  worsted  by  Gen.  Van.Dorn,  and  that  this  brave 
and  honourable  commander  had  achieved  for  his  country  no 
inconsiderable  success. 

The  fall  of  Gen.  Ben  McCulloch  was  esteemed  as  a  national 
calamity,  and,  in.  his  official  report  of  the  battle,  Gen.  Van 
Dorn  declared  that  no  successes  could  repair  the  loss  of  the 
gallant  dead  who  had  fallen  on  the  well-fought  field.  Gen. 
McCulloch's  name  was  already  historical  at. the  time  of  the 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  315 

breaking  out  of  the  revolution.  Twenty-six  years  ago  he 
served  in  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  afterwards  passed  his  time 
on  the  Texan  frontier  in  a  succession  of  hardships  and  dangers 
such  as  few  men  have  seen,  and  subsequently,  in  the  Mexican 
war  on  the  bloody  field  of  Buena  Vista,  received  the  public 
and  official  thanks  of  Gen.  Taylor  for  his  heroic  conduct  and 
services. 

McCulloch,  as  a  soldier,  .was  remarkable  for  his  singular  ca- 
pacities for  partisan  warfare,  and,  in  connection  with  "Walker, 
Hays  and  Chevallie,  had  originated  and  rendered  renowned 
the  riatne  of  "  Texas  Ranger."  These  daring  adventurers  did 
much  in  achieving  the  independence  of  the  Texan  Republic, 
and  in  defending  its  borders  from  the  ruthless  and  enterprising 
Camanche.  In  the  war  of  the  United  States  with  Mexico,  they 
rendered  invaluable  service  as  daring  scouts,  and  inaugurated 
the  best  and  most  effective  cavalry  service  that  has  ever  been 
known  in  the  world. 

The  moment  Lincoln's  election  became  known,  McCulloch 
identified  himself  as  an  unconditional  secessionist;  and  repaired 
to  Texas  to  take  part  in  any  movement  that  might  grow  out  of 
the  presence  of  over  8,000  United  States  troops  in  that  State. 
He  was  unanimously  selected  by  the  Committee  of  Tublic  Safety 
to  raise  'the  men  necessary  to  compel  the  surrender  of  San 
Antonio,  with  its  arsenal  and  the  neighboring  forts,  four  or 
five  in  number.  Within  four  days,  he  had  travelled  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  and  stood  before  San  Antonio  with  eight 
hundred  armed  men,  his  old  comrades  and  neighbours.  His 
mission  succeeded.  Texas  looked  to  him  with  confidence  as 
one  of  her  strong  pillars  in  case  of  war.  She  sent  him  abroad 
to  procure  arms  ;  but,  before  he  had  fully  succeeded,  President 
Davis  appointed  him  brigadier-general,  and  assigned  him  to  the 
command  of  the  Indian  Territory. 

He  was  killed  in  the  brush  on  a  slight  elevation  by  one  of 
the  sharpshooters  of  the  enemy.  He  was  not  in  uniform,  but 
his  dress  attracted  attention.  He  wore  a  dress  of  black  velvet, 
patent-leather  high-top  boots,  and  he  had  on  a  light-coloured, 


316  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

broad-brimmed  Texan  bat.  The  soldier  -who  killed  him,  a  pri- 
vate in  an  Illinois  regiment,  went  up  and  robbed  his  body  of  a 
gold  watch. 

Gen.  Mcintosh,  who  had  been  very  much  distinguished  all 
through  the  operations  in  Arkansas,  had  fallen  on  the  battle- 
field, about  the  same  time  that  McCulloch  had  been  killed. 
During  the  advance  from  Boston  Mountain,  he  had  been  placed 
in  command  of  the  cavalry  brigade  and  in  charge  of  the 
pickets.  He  was  alert,  daring  and  devoted  to  his  duty.  His 
kindness  of  disposition,  with  his  reckless  bravery,  had  attached 
the  troops  strongly  to  him,  so  that,  after  McCulloch  fell,  had 
he  remained  to  lead  them,  all  would  have  been  well  with  the 
right  wing;  but,  after  leading  a  brilliant  charge  of  cavalry, 
and  carrying  the  enemy's  battery,  he  rushed-  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight  again  at  the  head  of  his  old  regiment,  and  was  shot 
through  the  heart. 

'  A  noble  boy  from  Missouri,  Churchill  Clarke,  commanded  a 
battery  of  artillery,  and,  during  -the  fierce  artillery  action  of 
the  7th  and  8th,  was  conspicuous  for  the  daring  and  skill  which 
he  exhibited.     He  fell  at  the  very  close  of  the  action. 

While  there  was,  in  Richmond,  great  anxiety  to  construe 
aright  the  imperfect  and  uncertain  intelligence  which  had  ar- 
rived there,  by  devious  ways,  from  Arkansas,  news  reached 
the  Southern  capital  of  a  brilliant  and  undoubted  victory  still 
further  to  the  West,  in  the  distant  territory  of  New  Mexico. 
This  victory  had  been  achieved  weeks  before  the  slow  intelli- 
gence of  it  reached  Richmond.  Although  it  had  taken  place 
on  a  remote  theatre,  and  was  but  little  connected  with  the 
general  fortunes  of  the  war,  the  victory  o'f  Valverde  had  a 
good  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  the  Southern  people,  which  liad 
been  so  long  depressed  and  darkened  by  a  baleful  train  of 
disasters. 

THE    BATTLE   OF   VALVERDE. 

The  Confederates  marched  from  Mesilla,  in  Arizona,  upon 
Fort  Craig,  about  175  miles  distant,  and  there  fought  the  bat- 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  317 

tie  and  won  the  victqry  of  Valverde,  on  the  21st  of  March. 
Gen.  Sibley,  with  his  command,  numbering,  rank  and  file,  two 
thousand  three  hundred  men,  left  Fort  Thorn,  eighty  miles 
below  Fort  Craig,  about  the  12th  of  February.  On  arriving 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Craig,  he  learned  from  some  prisoners, 
captured  near  the  post,  that  Gen.  Canby  was  in  command  of 
the  Federal  forces  in  the  fort ;  that  he  had  twe'lre  hundred 
regular  troops,  two  hundred  American  volunteers  and  five  thou- 
sand Mexican?,  making  his  entire  force  near  six  thousand  four 
hundred  men.  Notwithstanding  this  superiour  force,  he  boldly 
advanced,  and,  on  the  19th,  crossed  the  river  near  Fort  Craig, 
and,  making  a  detour  of  some  miles,  arrived  on  the  morning  of 
the  21st  March  at  Valverde,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  llio 
Grande,  three  miles  above  the  fort,  where  a  large  body  of  the 
enemy  were  stationed  to  receive  him.  It  seems  that  all  the 
enemy's  forces,  with  the  exception  of  their  artillery  and  re- 
serves, were  upon  the  same  side  of  the  river  to  which  ous  troops 
were  advancing.  A  portion  of  Col.  Baylor's  regiment,  under 
command  of  Major  Fyon,  numbering  250  men,  were  the  first  to 
engage  the  enemy.  Alone  and  unsupported  for  one  hour,  they 
held  their  position  amid  a  hail  of  grape,  canister  and  round 
phot.  At  that  time  they  were  reinforced,  and  the  battle  be- 
came general.'  The  enemy  Jjien  made  an»  attack  upon  our 
right  wing  and  were  repulsed.  A  general  movement  was  then 
made  upon  our  line  with  more  success,  a  portion  of  our  left 
wing  being  compelled  to  fall  back  and  take  a  new  position. 
This  was  about  2  o'clock.  The  enemy  now  supposed  they  had 
gained  the  day,  and  ordered  their  battery  across  the  river, 
which  was  done.,  and  the  battery  planted  upon  the  bank.  As 
s^oon  as  the  battery  opened,  Gen.  Sibley  knew  it  had  crossed, 
and  immediately  ordered  a  general  charge,  which  was  per- 
formed only  as  Texans  can  do  it.  Starting  at  a  distance  of 
eight  hundred  yards,  with  their  Camanche  war-whoop,  they  re- 
served their  fire  until  within  thirty  yards  of  the  battery,  when 
they  poured  a  deadly  fire,  with  double-barrelled  shot-guns  and 
pistols,  immediately  into   the   horror-stricken  ranks  of  their 


318  THE    FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

foes.  They  sprung  into  the  river,  and,  in  crossing,  numbers 
were  killed.  Captain  Teel's  battery  now  coming  up,  closed 
this  sanguinary  contest  with  shell  and  grape,  and  they  fled 
down  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  to  the  fort.  The  battle 
lasted  nine  hours.  It  afforded  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
instances  of  valour  in  the  war — the  taking  of  a  field  battery 
with  shot-guns  and  pistols.  Our  loss  was  thirty-eight  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty  wounded  ;  that  of  the  enemy,  as 
given  by  themselves,  was  three  hundred  killed,  four  or  five 
hundred  wounded,  and  two  thousand  missing.  The  enemy 
suffered  the  most  while  retreating  across  the  river,  where  the 
slaughter  was  for  some  moments  terrible. 

After  the  victory  of'  Valverde,  the  small  force  of  Texans  not 
being  in  any  condition  to  assault  Fort  Craig,  pressed  on  to  Al- 
buquerque, about  ninety  miles  north  of  the  battle-field.  This 
city,  the  second  in  size  and' importance  in  the  territory,  having 
a  population  of  seven  or  eight  thousand,  the  Federals  had 
evacuated.  Tho  victorious  Confederates  still  pressed  towards 
Santa  Fe,  the  capital  city  of  the  great  central  plateau  of  in- 
teriour  America,  which  the  Federals  had  also  evacuated,  and 
fallen  back  oh  Fort  Union,  about  sixty  miles  northeast  of 
Santa  Fe,  and  one  of  the  strongest  fortifications  in  America. 

Thus  the  Texans  had  marched  about  three  hundred  miles 
from  Mesilla,  defeated  the  Federals  and  destroyed  their  army 
in  a  pitched  battle,  ejected  them  from  their  two  chief  cities, 
and  driven  th'em  out  of  the  territory  to  th^ir  outposts  on  its 
eastern  limits. 

The  result  of  the  battle  of  Valverde  was  encouraging,  and 
the  prospect  was  indulged  that  New  Mexico  was  already  con- 
quered, and  that  the  Confederate  States  held  the  Southern 
overland  route  to  California. 

Referring  to  the  progress  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  we 
shall  find  its  plans  and  locality  widely  changed,  the  line  of  the 
Potomac  abandoned,  and  the  long  and  persistent  struggle  of 
the  Federals  for  the  possession  of  Richmond  transferred  to  a 
new,  but  not  unexpected  theatre  of  operations. 


THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  319 

.  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  had  determined  to  change  his  line 
on  the  Potomac,  as  the  idea  of  all  offensive  operations  on  it 
had  been  abandoned,  and  it  had  become  necessary,  in  his  opin- 
ion, that  the  main  body 'of  the  Confederate  forces  in  Virginia 
should  be  in  supporting  distance  and  position  with  the  army  of 
the  Peninsula  ;•  and  in  the  event  of  either  being  driven  back, 
that  they  might  combine  for  final  resistance  before  Richmond. 

The,  discretion  of  falling  back  from  the  old  line  of  the  Poto- 
mac was  confided  by  President  Davis  entirely  to  Gen,  John- 
ston, who  enjoyed  a  rare  exemption  from  official  pragmatism 
at  Richmond,  and  was  in  many  things  very  much  at  liberty  to 
pursue  the  counsels  of  his  own  military  wisdom. 

For  the  space  of  three  weeks  before  the  army  left  its  en- 
trenchments at  Manassas,  preparations  were  being  made  for 
falling  back  to  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  by  the  quiet  and 
gradual  removal  of  the  vast  accumulations  of  army  stores  ;  and 
with  such  consummate  address  was  this  managed,  that  our  own 
troops  had  no  idea  of  what  was  intended  until  the  march  was 
taken  up.  The  first  intimation  the  enemy  had  of  the  evacua- 
tion of  Manassas  was  the  smoke  of  the  soldiers'  huts  that  had 
been  fired  by  our  army. 

That  the  strategic  plans  of  the  enemy  were  completely  foiled 
by  the  movement  of  Gen.  Johnston,  was  quite  evident  in  the 
tone  of  disappointment  and  vexation  in  which  the  Northern 
newspapers  referred  to  the  evacuation  of  Manassas,  which, 
unless  there  had  been  some  disconcert  of  their  own  strategy 
by  such  an  event,  they  would  have  been  likely  to  regard  as  a 
considerable  advantage  on  their  side  in  letting  them  further 
into  the  territory  of  Virginia.* 

*  It  was  stated  by  Senator  Chandler,  on  the  floor  of  the  Federal  Senate, 
that  Gen.  McClellan  had  an  army  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men  in 
and  around  Washington,  when  Gen.  Johnston  evacuated  Manassas.  The  force 
of  the  latter,  all  told,  could  not  have  exceeded  twenty-five  thousand  men;  so 
reduced  had  it  been  by  furloughs  and  sickness.  Yet,  for  months,  this  small 
force  gave  a  standing  offer  of  battle  to  the  hordes  of  McClellan. 
'  So  well-timed  was  the  falling  back  of  Gen.  Johnston,  that  the  day  his  rear- 
guard left  Manassas,  the  advance  guard  of  the  enemy  took  possession  of 


320  THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   "WAR. 

THE   BATTLE    OF  .KBRNSTOWN. 

While  our  forces  deserted  the  old  line  of  the  Potomac^  it  was 
determined  not  to  leave  the  Valley  of  Virginia  undefended, 
and  the  command  of  Gen.  Jackson  was  left  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Winchester,  to  operate  to  the  best  advantage. 

Near  the  town  of  Winchester  occurred,  on  the  23d  of  March, 
what  was  kno^vn  as  the  battle  of  Kernstown.  The  Federals' 
were  attacked  by  our  forces  under  Gen.  Jackson,  the  engage- 
ment having  been  brought  on  by  the  gallant  Col.  Ashby,  who 
had  been  fighting  the  enemy  wherever  he  had  shown  himself  in 
the  Valley.  The  Confederate  forces  amounted  to  six  thousand 
men,  with  Capt.  McLaughlin's  battery  of  artillery  and  Colonel 
Ashby's  cavalry.  All  the  troops  engaged  were  from  Virginia, 
except  a  few  companies  from  Maryland.  It  was  thought  that 
there  would  be  but  a  very  small  force  at  the  point  of  attack, 
but  the  enemy  proved  to  be  nearly  eighteen  thousand  strong, 
with  a  considerable  number  of  field  pieces.  They  occupied  a 
rising  ground  and  a  very  advantageous  position. 

Gen.  Banks  had  concluded  that  there  was  no  enemy  in  front 
except  Ashby's  force  of  cavalry;  that  Gen.  Jackson  would  not 
venture  -to  separate  himself  so  far  from  the  main  body  of  the 
Confederate  army  as  to  offer  him  battle,  and  under  these  im- 
pressions he  had  left  for  Washington.  On  Sunday  morning, 
Gen.  Shields,  who  had  been  left  in  command  of  the  Federals, 
satisfied  that  a  considerable  force  was^before  him,  concentrated 
his  whole  force,  and  prepared  to  give  battle.  The  action  com- 
menced about  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  terminated  when 
night  closed  upon  the  scene  of  conflict.  Our  men  fought  with 
desperation  until  dark,  when  the  firing  on  both  sides  ceased. 
During  the  night,  Gen.  Jackson  decided  to  fall  back  to  Cedar 


Snickersville  Ferry,  preparatory  to  a  movement  on  his  left  flank.  It  was 
McClellan's  purpose  to  move  on  both  flanks  and  in  front  at  the  same  time, 
and  thus  envelope  the  Confederate  army.  The  strategy  of  Johnston  ftilcd 
him  and  saved  his  own  army  from  destruction.  . 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  321 

Creek,  and  prepare  there  to  make  successful  opposition'  with 
his  small  force,  should  the  enemy  advance.  The  enemy  was 
left  in  possession  of  the  field  of  battle,  two  guns  and  four 
caissorife,  and  about  three  hundred  prisoners.  Our  loss  was 
about  one  hundred  killed,  and  probably  twice  that  number 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  certainly  more  than 
double.  At  one  period  of  the  fight  our  men  had  got  posses- 
sion of  a  stone  wall,  which  formed  the  boundary  of  two  fields, 
arfd,  dropping  on  their  knees,  had  fired  deadly  volleys  into  the 
advancing  lines  of  the  enemy.  The  Confederates  carried  off 
the  greater  portion  of  the  wounded  up  the  Valley.  Their  re- 
treat was  conducted  in  perfect  order ;  and  even  Gen.  Shields, 
in  his  accounts  of  the  affair,  which  were  very  much  exagge- 
rated, of  course,  for  the  purposes  of  popular  sensation  in  the 
North,  testified  of  the  Confederates,  that  "  such  was  their  gal- 
lantry and  high  state  of  discipline,  that  at  no  time  during  the 
battle  or  pursuit  did  they  give  way  to  panic." 

The  enemy  had  but  little  reason  to  boast  of  the  battle  of 
Kernstown.  In  fact,  the  affair  was  without  general  significa- 
tion. It  was  art  attack  by  the  Confederates,  undertaken  on 
false  information,  gallantly  executed,  and,  although  unsuccess- 
ful, was  not  disastrous.  The  Northern  troops  had  made  no  ad- 
vance in  the  Valley ;  from  the  Manassas  line  they  had  actually 
retired ;  nor  had  they  any  considerable  body  of  troops  this  side 
of  Centreville.  Whether  they  would  ever  attempt  to  execute 
their  original  plan,  of  a  march  through  Piedmont  to  Richmond, 
was  now  more  than  problematical. 

The  greater  portion  of  our  dead  left  on-  the  field  of  battle 
were  buried  under  the  direction  of  the  Mayor  of  Winchester. 
Some  fifty  citizens  collected  the  dead,  dug  a  great  pit  on  the 
battle-field,  and  gently  laid  the  poor  fellows  in  their  last  rest- 
ing place.  It  was  a  sad  sight,  and  sadder  still  to  see  women 
looking  carefully  at  every  corpse  to  try  to  identify  the  bodies 
of  their  friends. '  Scarcely  a  family  in  the  county  but  had  a 
relative  there.  But  their  suffering  did  not  mollify  the  noble 
Southern  women  of  Winchester.  Every  feeling,  testified  a 
21 


322  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

Federal  officer  who  witnessed  the  sad  and  harrowing  scenes  of 
the  battle-field,  seemed  to  have  been  extinguished  in  their  in- 
tense hatred  of  "  the  Yankees."  "  They  would  say,  '  You  may 
bring  the  whole  force  of  the  North  here,  but  you  call  never 
conquer  us, — we  will  shed  our  last  drop  of  blood,'  "  &c. 

Col.  Ashby  covered  the  retreat  of  the  army,  and  by  his  tire- 
less energy,  made  himself,  as  on  many  other  occasions,  the 
terror  of  the  Yankees.  The  daring  feats  and  heroic  exploits 
of  this  brave  officer  were  universal  themes  of  admiration  in  the 
South,  and  were  rehearsed  by  the  people  of  the  Valley,  who 
idolized  him,  with  infinite  gratification  and  delight.  A  few 
months  before,  when  Winchester  had  been  evacuated,  under 
orders  from  the  War  Department,  he  had  been  unwilling  to 
leave  the  town,  and  had  lingered  behind,  watching  the  ap- 
proach of  the  haughty  and  unprincipled  foe  into  this  ancient 
town  of  the  Valley.  He  waited  until  the  Federal  columns  had 
filled  the  streets,  and,  within  two  hundred  yards  of  them, 
cheered  for  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  then  dashed  off  at 
full  speed  for  the  Valley  turnpike.  He  reached  it  only  to  find 
his  way  intercepted  by  two  of  the  enemy's  pickets.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  drew  his  pistol  and  shot  down  one  of  the  pickets, 
and  seizing  the  other,  dragged  him  off  a  prisoner,  and  brought 
him  safely  to  the  Confederate  lines.  It  was  adventures  like 
these,  as  well  as  extraordinary  gallantry  in  the  field,  that  made 
the  name  of  the  brave  Virginia  cavalier  conspicuous  throughout 
the  South,  and  a  tower  of  strength  with  those  for  whose  homes 
and  firesides  he  had  been  struggling. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Col.  Ashby  was  not  striking. 
He  was  of  small  stature.  He  wore  a  long  black  beard,  and 
had  dark  glittering  eyes.  It  was  not  generally  known  that 
the  man  who  performed  such  deeds  of  desperate  valour  and  en- 
terprise, and  who  was  generally  pictured  to  the  imagination  as 
a  fierce,  stalwart  and  relentless  adventurer,  was  as  remarkable 
for  his  piety  and  devoutness  as  for  his  militaVy  achievements. 
His  manners  were  a  combination,  not  unusual  in  the  truly  re- 
fined spirit,  of  gentleness  with,  the  most  enthusiastic  courage. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  323 

It  was  said  of  him,  that  wfcen  he  gave  his  most  daring  com- 
mands, he  would  gently  draw  his  sabre,  wave  it  around  his 
head,  and  then  "his  clear,  sounding  voice*would  ring  out  the 
8imple  but  thrilling  words,  "Follow  me."  In  such  a  spirit  we 
recognize  the  fine  mixture  of  elements  that  the  world  calls 
heroism. 

The  Northern  forces  pursued  neither  the  retreat  of  Johnsjon 
from  Manassas,  nor  that  of  Jackson  from  Winchester.  On  the 
contrary,  they  withdrew  the  forces  first  advanced,  and  blocked 
the  road  between  Strasburg  and  Winchester.  It  was  known, 
however,  about  this  time,  that  the  camps  at  Washington  had 
been  rapidly  diminished,  and  that  McClellan  had  totally  disap- 
peared from  the  scene.  At  the  same  time  an  unusual  confi- 
dence was  expressed  in  the  Northern  journals  that  Richmond 
would  now  fall  almost  immediately  into  the  hands  of  their  gen- 
erals. Then  followed  the  daily  announcements  of  fleets  of 
transports  arriving  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  the  vast  extension 
of  the  long  line  of  tents  at  Newport  News.  These  were  evi- 
dent indications  of  the  intention  of  the  enemy  to  abandon  for 
the  present  other  projects  for  the  capture  of  Richmond,  so  ag 
to  make  his  great  effort  on  the  Peninsula  formed  by  the  York 
and  James  Rivers. 

Gen.  Magruder,  the  hero  of  Bethel,  and  a  commander  who 
was  capable  of  much  greater  achievements,  was  left  to  con- 
front the  growing  forces  on  the  Peninsula,  which  daily  menaced 
him,  with  an  army  0/  seventy-five  hundred  men,  while  the 
great  bulk  of  the  Confederate  forces  were  still  in  motion  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapid  1 11,  and  he 
had  no  assurance  of  reinforcements.  The  force  of  the  enemy 
was  ten  times  his  own;  they  had  commenced  a  daily  cannonad- 
ing uprn  his  lines;  and  a  council  of  general  officers  was  con- 
vened, to  consult  whether  the  little  array  of  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  men  should  maintain  its  position  in  the  face  of  ten- 
fold odds,  or  retire  before  the  enemy.  The  opinion  of  the 
council  was  unanimous  for  the  latter  alternative,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  officer,  who  declared  that  every  man  should  die 


824  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP   THB   "STAR. 

in  the  entrenchments  before  the  ^ittle  army  should  fall  back. 
"  By  G — ,  it  shall  be  so !  "  was  the  sudden  exclamation  of 
Gen.  Magruder,  in  sympathy  with  the  gallant#suggestion.  The 
resolution  demonstrated  a  remarkable  heroism  and  spirit.  Our 
little  force  was  adroitly  extended  over  a  distance  of  several 
miles,  reaching  from  Mulberry  Island  to  Gloucester  Point,  a 
regiment  being  posted  here  and  there,  in  every  gap  plainly 
open  to  observation,  and  on  other  portions  of  the  line  the  men 
being  posted  at  long  intervals,  to  give  the  appearance  of  num- 
bers to  the  enemy.  Had  the  weakness  of  Gen.  Magruder  at 
1  this  time  been  known  to  the  enemy,  he  might  have  suffered  the 
consequences  of  his  devoted  and  self-sacrificing  courage ;  but 
as  it  was,  he  held  his  lines  on  the  Peninsula  until  they  were 
reinforced  by  the  most  considerable  portion  of  Gen.  Johnston's 
forces,  and  made  the  situation  of  a  contest  upon  which  the  at- 
tention of  the  public  was  unanimously  fixed  as  the  most  deci- 
sive of  the  war. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  at  this  time  to  follow  up  the  develope-^ 
ments  of  the  situation  on  the  Peninsula.  We  must,  for  the 
present,  leave  affairs  there  in  the  crisis  to  which  we  have 
brought  them,  while  we  refer  to  a  serious  recurrence  of  dis- 
asters about  this  time  on  our  sea-coast  and  rivers,  where  again 
the  lesson  was  repeated  to  us  of  the  superiority  of  the  enemy 
on  the  water,  not  by  any  mysterious  virtue  of  gun-boats,  but 
solely  on  account,  as  we  shall  show,  of  inefficiency  and  improvi- 
dence of  our  government. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  the  town  of  Newbern,  in  North  Caro- 
lina,, was  taken  by  the  federals,  under  command  of  General 
Burnside,  after  a  feeble  resistance.  The  day  before,  the  Fede- 
rals had  landed  about  ten  thousand  troops  fifteen  miles  below 
Newbern,  and  at  the  same  time  had  ascended  the  river  with  a 
fleet  of  gun-boats,  which,  as  they  advanced,  shelled  the  woods 
in  every  direction.  The  next  morning  the  fighting  was  com- 
menced at  early  dawn,  and  continued  until  half-past  ten  o'clock, 
■when  our  forces,  being  almost  completely  surrounded,  were 
compelled  to  retreat.     All  the  forts  on  the  river  were  aban- 


THB  FIRST  YEAR   01  THE   WAR.  325 

doned.  Fort  Thompson  was  the  most  formidable  of  these.  It 
•was  four  miles  from  Newbern,  and  mounted  thirteen  heavy 
guns,  two  of  them  rifled  32-pounders.  The  guns  at  Fort 
Ellis,  three  miles  from  Newbern,  were  dismounted  and  thrown 
down  the  embankment.  Fort  Eane,  mounting  eight  guns,  two 
miles  from  Newbern,  was  blown  up.  In  the  first  attack  upon 
our  lines,  at  7  o'clock,  the  enemy  had  been  repulsed  three 
times  successively  by  our  infantry,  with  the  assistance  of  Fort 
Thompson  ;  but  having  flanked  our  forces  on  the  right,  which 
caused  a  panic  amongst  the  militia,  he  had  changed  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day.  The  railroad  bridge  across  Neuse  river  was 
not  burnt  until  after  all  our  troops  had  crossed,  except  those 
whose  escape  had  been  effectually  cut  off  by  the  enemy.  The 
Federals  achieved  a  complete  victory  after  a  contest  of  very 
short  duration,  having  taken  about  five  hundred  prisoners,  over 
fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  and  large  quantities  of  arms  and  am- 
munition. 

The  easy  defeat  of  the  Confederate  forces  at  Newbern,  the 
surrender  of  our  fortifications,  on  which  thousands  of  dollars 
had  recently  been  expended,  and  the  abandonment  not  only  of 
our  heavy  guns,  but  of  some  of  our  field  guns  also,  was  a  sub- 
ject of  keen  mortification  to  the  South.  The  fact  was  known^ 
that  our  force  at  Newbern  was  very  inadequate — not  more  than 
five  thousand — a  part  of  whom  were  militia,  and  had  been  left, 
despite  of  appeals  to  the  government  for  reinforcements,  to  en- 
counter whatever  force  Gen.  Burnside  should  choose  to  bring 
against  them.  Gen.  Branch,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Con- 
federate forces,  and  who  displayed  courage  and  judgment,  was 
compelled  to  fight  at  Newbern.  To  have  given  it  up  without 
a  struggle,  after  all  that  had  been  done  there,  would  have 
brought  him  into  discredit  with  the  government,  the  people 
and  the  troops.  As  it  was,  the  enemy  had  gained  an  important 
position  within  easy  reach  of  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon 
road.  But  few  persons  remained  in  the  town.  Seven  trains 
left  for  Goldsboro',  all  crowded  to  overflowing,  by,  fugitive  sol- 
diers and  panic-stricken  people.     A  shell  from  the  enemy's 


326  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

gun-boats  fell  within  twenty-five  feet  of  the  last  train  as  it 
moved  off.  Women  and  children  were  overtaken  by  the  trains 
many  miles  from  Newbern,  some  in  vehicles  of  various  kinds, 
and  many  on  foot.  The  panic  and  disorganization  extended 
for  miles,  and  yet  there  was  a  Jiobility  in  the  determination  of 
the  population  of  Newbern  to  fly  anywhere  rather  than  court 
security  in  their  homes  by  submission  to  the  enemy.  The 
town  of  Newbern  originally  contained  twelve  hundred  people ; 
when  occupied  by  the  enemy,  it  contained  one  hundred  people, 
male  and  female,  of  the  old  population. 

On  the  12th  day  of  April  one- year  ago,  the  guns  and  mor- 
tars of  th$  South  Carolina  batteries  opened  upon  the  then  hos- 
tile walls  of  Fort  Sumter.  Strangely  enough,  the  first  anni- 
yersary  of  the  event  was  signalized  by  the  startling  and  un- 
comfortable announcement  that  Fort  Pulaski,  the  principal 
defence  of  the  city  of  Savannah;  had  surrendered  to  the  Yan- 
kees, after  a  brief  bombardment.  The  news  was  all  the  more 
unpleasant,  from  the  fact  that  the  day  before  the  public  had 
been  informed  by  telegraph  that  the  enemy's^  batteries  had 
been  "  silenced."  .  It  seems  that  they  were  not  silent  until  our 
flaor  was  struck.  The  surrender  was  unconditional,  and  the 
garrison,  cofisisting  of  more  than  three  hundred  men,  four  of 
whom  had  been  wounded  and  none  killed,  were  made  prisoners 
of  war. 

Another  Confederate  disaster  on  the  coast  shortly  ensued,  in 
the  surrender  of  Fort  Macon.  This  fort,  on  the  North  Caro- 
lina coast,  was  surrendered  on  the  25th  of  April,  after  a  bom- 
bardment from  the  enemy's  land  batteries  of  less  than  twelve 
hours.  It  commanded  the  entrance  to  Beaufort  harbour,  and 
was  said  to  be  the  most  formidable  fortification  on  the  North 
Carolina  coast. 

For  these  painful  and  almost  humiliating  disasters  on  our 
coast  and  rivers,  a  ready  but  very  silly  excuse  was  always  at 
hand.  A  most  pernicious  and  false  idea  appeared  to  have 
taken  possession  of  the  public  mind  with  reference  to  the  es- 
sential superiority  of  the  enemy  on  water.     A  very  obvious 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OP  THE   WAR.  327 

reflection  of  common  sense  dissipates  the  idea  of  any  essential 
advantage  which  the  enemy  had  over  us  on  the  water.  The 
failures  in  our  defences  had  been  most  unjustly  attributed*  to 
the  bug-bear  of  gun-boats,  when  they  ought  to  have  been  as- 
cribed to  no  more  unavoidable  causes  than  our  own  improvi- 
dence and  negh-ct. 

The  suggestion  of  common  sense  is,  that  if  it  was  possible 
to  make  a  vessel  ball-proof,  it  was  certainly  much  easier  to 
make  a  fortification  ball-proof.  The  ^excuse  had  been  persis- 
tently made  for  our  lack  of  naval  defences,  that  it  was  difficult 
to  supply  the  necessary  machinery,  and  almost  impossible,  with 
the  limited  means  at  our  disposal,  to  construct  steam  engines. 
But  these  excuses  about  lack  of  machinery  and  steam  engines 
did  not  apply  to  our  land  defences.  No  machinery  was  neces- 
sary ;  no  engine  was  necessary ;  and  no  consultation  of  curved 
lines  of  naval  architecture  was  required  to  make  a  landiortifica- 
tion  ball-proof.  The  iron  plate  that  was  fitted  on  the  side  of  a 
gun-boat  had  only  to  be  placed  on  a  dead  surface,  to  make  the 
land  fortification  a  match  in  invulnerability  to  the  iron-plated 
man-of-war.  This  was  common  sense.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, it  Avas  a  common  sense  which  the  scientists  of  West 
Point  had  been  unable  to  appreciate.  While  the  public  mind 
had  been  busy  in  ascribing  so  many  of  our  late  disasters  to 
some  essential  and  mysterious  virtue  in  iron-plated  boats,  it 
seemed  never  to  have  occurred  to  it  that  it  was  much  easier  to 
construct  iron-plated  batteries  on  land  than  the  iron-plated 
sides  of  a  ship,  besides  giving  the  structure  the  power  of  loco- 
motion, and  that  our  defeats  on  the  water,  instead  of  being 
charged  to  "  gun-boats,"  or  to  "  the  dispensations  of  Provi- 
dence," had  been  but  the  natural  results  of  human  neglect  and 
human  stupidity. 


328  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Campaign  in  the  Mississippi  Valley... Bombardment  of  Island  No.  10... 
The  Scenes,  Incidents  and  Results. ..Fruits  of  the  Northern  Victory. ..Move- 
ments of  the  Federals  on  the  Tennessee  River. ..The  Battle  of  Shiloh...A 
"Lost  Opportunity  "...Death  of  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston... Comparison 
Between  the  Battles  of  Shiloh  and  Manassas. ..The  Federal  Expeditions  into 
North  Alabama... Withdrawal  of  the  Confederate  Forces  from  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  District. ..General  Price  and  His  Command. ..The  Fall  of  New 
Orleans. ..The  Flag  Imbroglio. ..Major-General  Butler. ..Causes  of  the  Disas- 
ter...Its  Results  and  Consequences. ..The  Fate  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  last  period  of  our  narrative  of  events  in  Tennessee,  left 
Gen.  Johnston  making  a  Southward  movement  towards  the  left* 
bank  of  the  Tennessee  River,  for  the  objects  of  the  defence  of 
Memphis  and  the  Mississippi  River,  and  indicated  the  important 
position  of  Island  No.  10,  forty-five  miles  below  Columbus,  as 
still  in  possession  of  the  Confederates., 

This  important  position  in  the  Mississippi  River  was  de- 
fended by  General  Beauregard  with  extraordinary  vigour  and 
success  against  the  fleet  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats,  under  the 
command  of  Flag-Officer  Foote.  The  works  were  erected  with 
the  highest  engineering  skill,  were  of  great  strength,  and  with 
their  natural  advantages,  were  thought  to  be  impregnable. 

The  bombardment  of  Madrid  Bend  and  Island  No.  10  com- 
menced on  the  15th  of  March  and  continued  constantly  night 
and  day.  On  the  17th  a  general  attack,  with  five  gun-boats 
and  four  mortar-boats,  was  made,  which  lasted  nine  hours. 
The  attack  was  unsuccessful.  On  the  1st  of  April  General 
Beauregard  telegraphed  to  the  War  Department  at  Richmond 
that  th«  bombardment  had  continued  for  fifteen  days,  in  which 
time  the  enemy  had  thrown  three  thousand  shells,  expending 
about  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  powder,  with  the  result 
on  our  side  of  one  man  killed  and  none  seriously  wounded.    The 


THE  FIRST    TEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  329 

gratifying  statement  was  also  made  in  General  Beauregard's 
dispatches  that  our  batteries  -were  entirely  intact.  We  had 
disabled  one  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats  and  another  was  reported 
to  be  sunk,  and  the  results  of  the  bombardment,  so  far  as  it 
had  continued,  afforded  room  for  congratulation  that  the 
phantasy  of  the  invincible  power  of  Yankee  gun-boats  would 
at  last  be  dispelled,  and  that  the  miserable  history  of  the 
surrender  of  all  our  forts  to  this  power  was  destined  to  wind  up 
in  a  decisive  and-  brilliant  Confederate  triumph  on  the  waters 
of  the  Mississippi.  oThe  daily  bulletin  from  Island  No.  10,  for 
many  days,  represented  that  the  enemy,  after  an  incessant 
bombardment  of  many  hours,  had  inflicted  no  iitjury.  The 
people  of  the  South  were  constantly  assured  that  the  place  was 
impregnable,  and  that  the  enemy  never  could  pa»s  it. 

The  bombardment  had  been  one  of  unparalleled  length  in  the 
war.  Every  day  the  mortars  continued  to  boom,  and  still  the 
cannon  of  the  island  replied  with  dull,  sullen  roar,  wasting  shot 
and  temper  alike.  The  very  birds  became  accustomed  to  the 
artificial  thunder,  and  alighted  upon  the  branches  of  trees  over- 
hanging the  mortars  in  the  sulphurous  smoke.  The  scenes  of 
this  long  bombardment  are  described  as  affording  some  of  the 
most  magnificent  spectacles — the  tongues  of  flame  leaping  from 
the  mouths  of  the  mortars  amid  a  crash  like  a  thousand  thun- 
ders, and  then  the  columns  of  smoke  rolling  up  in  beautiful 
fleecy  spirals,  developing  into  rings  of  exquisite  proportions.  It 
is  only  necessary  for  one  to  realize  the  sublime  poetry  of  rair, 
as  illustrated  in  the  remarkable  scenes  at  Island  No.  10,  to 
imagine  a  dozen  of  these  monsters  thundering  at  once,  the  air 
filled  with  smoke  clouds,  tke  gun-boats  belching  out  destruction 
and  completely  hidden  from  sight  in  whirls  of  smoke,  the  shells 
screaming  through  the  ;air  with  an  unearthly  sound,  and  the 
distant  guns  of  the  enemy  sending  their  solid  shot  above  and 
around  the  island,  dashing  the  water  up  in  glistening  columns 
and  jets  of  spray. 

While  the  people  of  the  South  we/e  induced  to  anticipate  a 
decisive  and  final  repulse  of  the  enemy  on  the  waters  of  the 


330  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

Mississippi,  the  news  reached  them  through  Northern  channels 
that  the  capture  of  Island  No.  10  had  been  effected  on  the  8th 
of  April,  and  that  not  only  had  the  position  been  weakly  sur- 
rendered, but  that  we  had  saved  none  of  our  cannon  or  muni- 
tions, had  lost  our  boats,  and  had  left  about  six  hundred 
prisoners  on  the  island  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  evacuation  of  the  island,  which  was  effected  in  the 
greatest  precipitation — our  sick  being  abandoned,  there  being 
no  concert  of  action  whatever  between  th<?  Confed'erates  upon 
the  island  and  those  occupying  the  shoB,  the  latter  fleeing, 
leaving  the  former  to  their  fate — had  taken  place  but  two  days 
after  Gen.  Beauregard  had  left  command  of  the  post  for  im- 
portant operations  to  check  the  movements  of  the  enemy  on 
the  Tennessee  River,  which  were  developing  a  design  to  cut  off 
his  communication  in  West  Tennessee  with  the  Eastern  and 
Southern  States.  Gen.  Makall  had  been  appointed  to  take 
command  of  the  post.  He  assumed  it  on  the  5th  of  April,  in 
a  flaming  order,  in  which  he  announced  to  the  soldiers:  "Let 
me  tell  you  who  I  am.  I  am  a  general  made  by  Beauregard — 
a  general  selected  by  Gens.  Beauregard  and  Bragg."  In  the 
meantime,  the  enemy  was  busy,  and  his  operations  were  suf- 
fered to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  Confederate  commander. 
The  Federals  had  cut  a  canal  across  the  Peninsula  at  New 
Madrid,  through  which  the  steamers  and  several  barges  were 
taken.  The  undertaking  was  a  herculean  one.  The  canal 
was  twelve  miles  long,  through  heavy  timber,  which  had  to  be 
sawed  off  by  hand  four  feet  under  water. 

One  of  the  enemy's  gunboats  had  succeeded  in  passing  the 
island  in  a  heavy  fog.  On  the  night  of  the  5th  of  April,  the 
enemy,  with  a  gun-boat,  engaged  Rucker's  battery.  While  at- 
tention was  engaged  with  this  boat,  a  second  gun-boat  slipped 
down  unperceived,  except  by  the  men  at  one  of  the  batteries 
who  fired  two  shots  at  her  without  effect.  The  situation  was 
now  serious ;  the  enemy  had  possession  of  the  river  below  the 
island.  On  the  night  of  April  6,  Gen.  Makall  moved  the  in- 
fantry and  Stewart's  battery  to  the  Tennessee  shore,  to  pro- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  331 

tect  the  landing  from  .anticipated  attacks.  The  artillerists 
remained  on  the  island.  The  enemy  having  effected  a  landing 
above  and  below  the  island  in  large  force,  its  surrender  might 
be  considered  as  a  military  necessity.  But  there  could  be  no 
excuse  for  the  wretched  management  and  infamous  scenes  that 
attended  the  evacuation.  All  our  guns,  seventy  in  number, 
varying  in  calibre  from  32  to  100-pounders,  rifled,  were  aban- 
doned, together  with  our  magazines,  which  were  well  supplied 
with  powder,  large  quantities  of  shot,  shell,  and  other  muni- 
tions of  war.  The  transports  and  boats  were  scuttled.  No- 
thing seenls  to  have  been  done  properly.  The  guns  were 
spiked  with  rat-tail  files,  but  so  imperfectly  that  several  of 
them  were  rendered  serviceable  to  the  enemy  in  a  very  short 
time.  The  floating  battery,  formerly  the  Pelican  Dock  at  New 
Orleans,  of  sixteen  heavy  guns,  after  being  scuttled,  was  cut 
loose.  At  daylight  it  was  found  'lodged  a  short  distance  above 
Point  Pleasant,  and  taken  possession  of  by  the  enemy.  Four 
steamers  afloat  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  with  all  the 
stores  on  board. 

The  unhappy  men  on  the  island  were  abandoned  to  their 
fate,  the  Confederates  on  the  mainland  having  fled  with  pre- 
cipitation. On  one  of  the  hospital  boats  were  a  hundred  poor 
wretches,  half  dead  with  disease  and  neglect.  On  the  shore 
were  crowds  of  our  men  wandering  around  among  the  profu- 
sion of  ammunition  and  stores.  A  few  of  them  effected  their 
escape  through  the  most  remarkable  dangers  and  adventures. 
Some  trusted  themselves  to  hastily  constructed  rafts,  with 
which  to  float  down  the  Mississippi,  hoping  to  attract  the  at-' 
tention  and  aid  of  the  people  living  on  the  shore.  Other3 
gained  the  upper  bahks  of  the  river,  where,  for  several  days 
and  nights,  they  wandered,  lost  in  the  extensive  cane-breaks, 
without  food  «md  in  severe  toil.  Some  two  or  three  hundred 
of  the  stragglers,  principally  from  the  forces  on  the  mainland, 
succeeded  in  making  their  way  to  Bell's  Station,  on  the  Ohio 
railroad,  and  reached  Memphis. 

The  disaster  was  considerable  enough  in  the  loss'  of  Island 


332  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OP  THE  WAR. 

No.  10;  but  the  circumstances  attending  it,  and  the  conse- 
quences in  the  loss  of  men,  cannon,  ammunition,  supplies  and 
everything  appertaining  to  an  army,  all  of  which  might  pos- 
sibly have  been  avoided,  increased  the  regrets  of  the  South, 
and  swelled  the  triumph  of  her  enemies.  Our  total  loss  in 
prisoners,  including  those  taken  on  the  mainland  as  well  as 
those  abandoned  on  the  island,  was  probably  not  less  than  two 
thousand.  The  Federal  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Welles, 
had  reason  to  declare,  that  "the  triumph  was  not  the  less 
appreciated,  because  it  was  protracted  and  finally  bloodless." 
No  single  battle-field  had  yet  afforded  to  the  North  such  visible 
fruits  of  victory  as  had.been  gathered  at  Island  No.  10. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   SHILOH. 

In  the  meantime,  the  movements  of  the  enemy  on  the  Ten- 
nessee River  were  preparing  the  situation  for  one  of  the 
grandest  battles  that  had  yet  been  fought  in  any  quarter  of 
the  war,  or  had  yet  illustrated  the  exasperation  and  valour  of 
the  contestants.  Gen.  Beauregard  had  determined  to  foil  the 
apparent  designs  of  the  enemy  to  cut  off  his  communication 
with  the  South  and  East,  by  concentrating  all  his  available 
forces  at  and  around  Corinth.  This  town  is  situated  at  -the 
junction  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  and  the  Mobile  and 
Ohio  railroads,  about  ninety-two  miles  east  of  Memphis. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  taken  up  a  line  of  march  from  Murfrees- 
boro',  to  form  a  junction  of  his  forces  with  those  of  General 
Beauregard.  By  the  1st  of  April,  these  united  forces  were 
concentrated  along  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad  from  Bethel 
to  Corinth,  and  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad  from 
Corinth  to  Iuka.  The  Army  of  the  Mississippi  had  received 
other  important  accessions.  It  was  increased  by  several  regi- 
ments from  Louisiana,  two  divisions  of  Gen.  Polk's  command 
from  Columbus,  and  a  fine  corps  of  troops  from  Mobile  and 
Pensacola.  In  numbers,  in  discipline,  in  the  galaxy  of  the 
distinguished  names  of  its  commanders,  and  in  every  article 
of  merit  and  display,  the  Confederate  army  in  the  vicinity  of 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  383 

Corinth  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  ever  assembled  by  the 
South  on  a  single  battle-field. 

The  enemy  under  Gen.  Grant,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, had  obtained  a  position  at  Pittsburg  and  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Savannah.  An  advance  was  contemplated  by  him,  as 
soon  as  he  could  be'reinforced  by  the  army  under  Gen.  Buell, 
then  known  to  be  advancing  for  that  purpose  by  rapid  marches 
from  Nashville  by  the  way  of  Columbus.  To  prevent  this  de- 
monstration, it  was  determined  by  Gen.  Beauregard  to  press 
the  issue  without  delay.  By  a  rapid  and  vigourous  attack  on 
Gen.  Grant,  it  was  expected  he  would  be  beaten  back  into  his 
transports  and  the  river,  or  captured  in  time  to  enable  the 
Confederates  to  profit  by  the  victory,  and  remove  to  the  rear 
all  the  stores  and  munitions  that  would  fall  into  their  hands, 
in  such  an  event,  before  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Buell's  army  on 
the  scene.  It  was  never  contemplated,  however,  to  retain  the 
position  thus  gained  and  abandon  Corinth,  the  strategic  point 
of  the  campaign. 

It  appears  to  have  been  Gen.  Beauregard's  plan  to  have  at- 
tacked the  enemy  in  their  encampments  on  Saturday,  the  5th. 
He,  therefore,  began  the  movement  on  Thursday,  but  the  roads 
were  heavy,  and  the  men  could  not  be  got  into  position  before 
Saturday.  Had  the  attack  been  made  on  that  day,  the  first 
days's  fighting  must  have  ended  the  conflict,  for'  the  enemy 
could  have  had  no  hope  of  aid  from  Buell.  As  it  was,  one 
day  was  lost,  and  *he  enemy  were  constantly  inspirited  by  the 
almost  momentary  expectation  of  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Buell. 
In  the  meantime,  courier  after  courier  was  sent  by  Gen.  Grant 
for  Buell  to  hasten  on. 

The  Confederate  forces  did  not  reach  the  intersection  of  the 
roads  from  Pittsburg  and  Hamburg,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  enemy,  until  late  Saturday  afternoon.  Their  march  had 
been  tedious  and  wearisome.  The  roads  were  narrow  and 
traversed  a  densely  wooded  country,  and  a  .severe  rain  storm 
had  rendered  them  almost  impassable,  and  had  drenched  pur 
troops  in  bivouac. 


834  THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE  WAR. 

The  morning  of  the  6th  of  April  (Sunday)  was  to  usher  in 
the  bloody  scenes  of  a  memorable  battle.  One  camp  of  the 
enemy  was  near  Shiloh  Church — a  rude  log  chapel — and  an- 
other stretched  away  in  the  direction  of  the  road  leading  from 
Pittsburg  Landing  on  the  river  to  Corinth.  The  scene  of  the 
encampment  was  a  very  beautiful  and  magnificent  one,  there 
being  but  little  undergrowth,  and  the  thin  ranks  of  the  tall 
forest  trees  affording  open  views,  while  the  interlacing  of  their 
topmost  boughs  made  a  picturesque  and  agreeable  canopy.  In 
a  military  point  of  view,  the  battle-field  might  be  described  as 
a  broken  country,  presenting  opportunities  for  a  great  variety 
of  manoeuvres  and  independent  operations  by  comparatively 
small  bodies  of  men. 

On  the  Saturday  evening  preceding  the  Sunday  fight  at 
Shiloh,  there  had  been  considerable  skirmishing  on  our  lines. 
Early  Sunday  morning,  before  sunrise,  Gen.  Hardee,  in  front 
of  the  enemy's  camp,  made  an  advance  upon  it.  The  enemy 
was  taken  completely  by  surprise,  not  expecting  to  be  attacked, 
under  any  circumstances,  by  our  inferiour  force.  Many  of  the 
men  were  undressed  and  in  night  attire,  and  the  hot  breakfasts 
prepared  by  the  messes  were  left  untouched  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  our  men.  A  line  of  battle  was  hastily  formed  by  the 
enemy,  and,  in  the  meantime,'our  forces  were  advancing  in 
every  direction.  The  plan  of  the  battle  on  our  side  was  to 
form  three  parallel  lines — the  front,  centre  and  rear — each 
line  having  its-  centre  and  two  flanks. a  The  rear  constituted 
the  reserve,  and  the  artillery  was  distributed  between  the  first 
and  second  lines.  The  front  was  commanded  by  Gen.  Hardee, 
the  centre  by  Gen.  Bragg,  and  the  rear  by  Gen.  Polk— John- 
ston and  Beauregard  being  with  the  latter. 

From  daylight  until  a  little  after  six  o'clock,  the  fighting 
was  principally  between  the  pickets  and  skirmishers,  but,  at 
the  latter  hour,  a  portion  of  our  main  body  appearing  in  sight, 
fire  opened  with  artillery,  and  for  an  hour  or  more  one  heard 
nothing  but  the  incessant  uproar  of  the  heavy  guns.  Our  men, 
.though  many  of  them  were  unaccustomed  to  the  iron  hail,  re- 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  335 

ceived  the  onset  coolly,  awaiting  the  orders  to  rise  from  their 
recumbent  position  and  advance.  In  due  time  these  came,  and 
thenceforward  through  the  day,  brave  and  disciplined  as  were 
the  Federal  troops,  nothing  seemed  capable  of  resisting  the 
desperate  valour  of  the  Confederates.  The  enemy  fell  like  chuff 
before  the  wind.  Broken  in  ranks,  they  rallied  behind  trees  and 
in  the  underbrush,  only  to  be  again  repulsed  and  driven  back. 

The  scenery  of  the  battle-field  was  awfully  sublime.  Far 
up  in  the  air  shells  burst  into  flame  like  shattered  stars,  and 
passed  away  in  little  clouds  of  white  vapour,  while  others  filled 
the  air  with  a  shrill  scream,  and  burst  far  in  the  rear.  All 
along  the  line  the  faint  smoke  of  the  musketry  rose  ligfitly, 
while,  from  the  mouths  of  the  cannon,  sudden  gusts  of  intense 
white  smoke  burst  up  all  around.  Every  second  of  time  had 
its  especial  tone.  Bullets  shredded  the  air,  and  whistled  swiftly 
by,  or  struck  into  trees,  fences,  wagons,  or  with  their  peculiar 
"chuck"  into  men.  Every  second  of  time  had  its  especial 
tone,  and  the  forest,  amongwhosc  branches  rose  the  wreathing 
smoke,  was  packed  with  dead. 

The  irresistible  attack  of  our  troops  was  compared  by  Gen. 
Beauregard,  in  his  official  report  of  the  battle,  to  "an  Alpine 
avalanche."  'The  enemy  were  driven  back  by  a  series" of  dar- 
ing, desperate  and  successful  charges,  the  various  Confederate 
regiments  and  brigades  rolling  rapidly  forward  to  the  sound  of 
enthusiastic  cheers.  In  all  of  these,  both  general  and  field 
officers  displayed  a  bravery  that  amounted  to  sheer  reckless- 
ness, frequently  leading  the  men  into  the  very  teeth  of  the  op- 
posing fire.  It  was  these  inspiring  examples  of  personal  valour 
which  made  our  troops  invincible. 

At  half-past  two,  Gen.  Johnston,  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Confederates,  fell.  He  was  leading  a  charge  upon  the 
third  camp  of  the  enemy.  The  fatal  wound  was  inflicted  by  a 
musket  ball  on  the  calf  of  his  right  leg,  and  was  considered  by 
him  as  only  a  flesh  wound.  Soon  after  receiving  it,  he  gave 
an  order  to  Governor  Harris,  who  was  acting  as  volunteer  aid . 
to  him,  who,  on  his  return  to  Gen.  Johnston,  in  a  different  part 


336  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

of  the  field,  found  him  exhausted  from  loss  of  blood,  and  reel- 
ing in  his  saddle.  Riding  up  to  him,  Governor  Harris  asked  : 
"Are  you  hurt?"  To  which  the  now  dying  hero  answered: 
"Yes,  and  I  fear  mortally;"  and  then  stretching  out  both 
arms  to  his  companion,  fell  from  his  horse,  and  soon  after  ex- 
pired.    No  other  wounds  were  discovered  upon  his  person. 

Prudently  the  information  of  Gen.  Johnston's  fall  was  kept 
from  the  army.  But  the  day  was  already  secured.  Amid  the 
roar  of  artillery  and  the  cheers  of  the  victorious  army,  the 
commaiider-in-chief  quietly  breathed  his  last.  Our  forces  were 
successfully  pushing  the  enemy  back  upon  the  Tennessee  River. 
It  was  after  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  his  last  position 
was  carried.  The  remnant  of  his  army  had  been  driven  in 
utter  disorder  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Pittsburg,  under  the 
shelter  of  the  heavy  guns  of  his  iron-clad  gun-boats,  and  the 
Confederates  remained  undisputed  masters  of  his  well-selected, 
admirably  provided  cantonments,  after  over  twelve  hours  of 
obstinate  conflict  with  his  forces,  -who  had  been  beaten  from 
them  and  the  contiguous  covert,  but  only  by  a  sustained  onset 
of  all  the  men  we  could  bring  into  action. 

The  substantial  fruits  of  our  victory  were  immense.  We 
were  in  possession  of  all  the  enemy's  encampments  between 
Owl  and  Lick  Rivers,  nearly  all  of  his  field  artillery,  about 
thirty  flags,  colours  and  standards,  over  three  thousand  pri- 
soners, including  a  division  commander  (General  Prentiss)  and 
several  brigade  commanders,  thousands  of  small  arms,  an  im- 
mense supply  of  subsistence,  forage  and  munitions  of  war,  and 
a  large  amount  of  means  of  transportation.  Never,  perhaps, 
was  an  army  so  well  provided  as  that  of  the  enemy,  and  never, 
perhaps,  was  one  so  completely  stripped  on  a  single  battle-field. 
On  taking  possession  of  the  enemy's  encampments,  there  were 
found  therein  the  complete  muster-rolls  of  the  expedition  up 
the  river.  It  appeared  that  we  had  engaged  the  divisions  of 
Gens.  Prentiss,  Sherman,  Hurlbut,  McClernand  and  Smith,  of 
9,000  men  each,  or  at  least  45,000  men.  Our  entire  force  in 
the  engagement  could  not  have  exceeded  38,000  men.     The 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  337 

flower  of  the  Federal  troops  were  engaged,  being  principally 
Western  men,  from  the  States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Wisconsin 
and  Iowa.  There  were  also  quite  a  number  of  Missourians 
opposed  to  us,  who  are  said  to  have  fought  with  great  spirit, 
opposite  Gen.  Gladden's  brigade,  on  the  extreme  right.  These 
men  were  accustomed  to  lives  of  hardihood  and  adventure. 
The  captured  Federal  general — Prentiss — did  not  hesitate  to 
testify  to  General  Beauregard,  "  You  have  whipped  our  best 
troops  to-day." 

The  enemy's  artillery  on  the  field,  according  to  Gen.  Pren» 

"tiss'  statement,  numbered  in  all  one  hundred  and  eight  pieces, 
or  eighteen  batteries  of  six  pieces  each.  Their  small  arms 
were  of  every  description :  Minie  rifles,  Enfield  rifles,  Maynard 
rifles,  Colt's  six-shooters,  common  muskets,  &c,  all  of  the  best, 
quality  and  workmanship.  The  Federal  equipments  left  no- 
thing to  be  desired.  Their  clothing  was  of  the  best  quality 
and  abundant,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  their  supplies. 
An  abundance  of  excellent  coffee  was  found  in  their  tents — 
beef,  pork,  butter,  cheese,  navy  biscuit  and  sugar.  The  famous 
expedition  to  the  plains  of  Manassas  was  not  better  fitted  out 
or  supplied. 

On  Sunday  night,  Gen.  Beauregard  established  his  head- 
quarters at  the  little  church  of  Shiloh,  and  our  troops  Mere 
directed  to  sleep  on  their  arms  in  the  enemy's  encampment. 
The  hours,  however,  that  should  have  been  devoted  to  the 
refreshment  of  nature  were  spent  by  many  of  the  troops  in  & 
disgraceful  hunt  after  the  spoils.  The  possession  of  the  rich 
camp  of  the  enemy  seemed  to  have  demoralized  whole  regi- 
ments. All  through  the  night  and  early  the  next  morning 
the  hunt  after  the  spoils  was  continued.  '  Cowardly  citizens 
and  rapacious  soldiers  were  engaged  alike  in  the  wretched 
work.  They  might  be  seen  everywhere,  plundering  the  tents 
out  of  which  the  enemy  had  been  driven,  and  loading  them- 
selves down  with  the  spoils.  The  omission  of  discipline,  which 
permitted  these  scenes,  is  not  pardonable  even  in  the  license 

.  and  indulgences  which  generally  attend  the  victory  of  an  army. 


338  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

The  spoils  of  a  victorious  army  should  be  carefully  gathered 
up  and  preserved  for  the  use  of  the  army  itself.  They  are  the 
just  possession  of  the  conqueror,  are  frequently  of  great  value, 
and  should  not  be  lost  or  carried  off,  where  they  can  be  of  use. 
But,  more  than  this,  nothing  could  be  more  likely  to  demora- 
lize troops  than  the  indiscriminate  pillage  of  an  enemy's  camp. 
It  creates  disorganization  in  the  army  ;  it  so  far  stands  in  the 
way  of  a  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  enemy ;  it  demoralizes  the 
spoiler  himself,  and  lets  him  down  at  one  step  from  an  honour- 
able soldier  to  a  plundering  brigand.  It  is  rfo  wonder  that  the 
troops  which  confronted  the  enemy  next  morning  in  the  vicinity" 
of  Pittsburg  Landing  betrayed,  however  bravely  they  fought 
in  comparison  with  the  enemy,  a  diminution  of  spirit  and 
visible  signs  of  demoralization. 

Sunday  night  found  both  armies  in  a  critical  situation.  Gen. 
Beauregard  hoped,  from  news  received  by  a  special  dispatch, 
that  delays  had  been  encountered  by  Gen.  Buell  in  his  march 
from  Columbia,  and  that  his  main  force,  therefore,  could  not 
reach  the  field  of  battle  in  time  to  save  Gen.  Grant's  shattered 
fugitive  forces  from  capture  or  destruction  on  the  folloAying 
day.  The  situation  of  Gen.  Grant  was  that  of  the  most  ex- 
treme anxiety  to  himself.  •  The  enemy  had  supposed  that  the 
last  act  of  the  tragedy  would  have  been  completed  on  Saturday 
evening.  The  reserve  line  of  the  Federals  was  entirely  gone. 
Their  whole  army  was  crowded  into  a  circuit  of  half  to  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  around  the  landing.  They  had  been  falling 
back  all  day.  The  next  repulse  would  have  put  them  into  the 
river,  and  there  were  not  transports  enough  to  cross  a  single 
division  before  the  Confederates  would  be  upon  them.  As  the 
lull  in  the  firing  of  the  Confederates  took  place,  and  the  angry 
rattle  of  musketry  died  upon  the  ears  of  the  fugitive  Federals, 
they  supposed  that  the  pursuing  army  was  preparing  for  the 
grand  final  rush  that  was  to  crown  the  day's  success.  But 
Gen.  Beauregard  had  been  satisfied  to  pursue  the  enemy  to  the 
river,  and  to  leave  him  under  the  cover  of  his  gun-boats,  with- 
out an  attempt  to  penetrate  it.     When  it  was  understood  that- 


the  first  Year  of  the  war.  "339 

pursuit  was  called  off,  Gen.  Grant  could  ill  conceal  his  exjhlta- 
tion.  His  anxiety  was  suddenly  composed,  and,  in^a  tone  of 
confidence,  he  exclaimed  to  the  group  of  officers  around  him, 
"  to-morrow  they  will  be  exhausted,  and  then  we  will  go  at 
them  with  fresh  troops."*  m     \ 

He  was  right.  Looking  across  the  Tennessee,  he  could  see 
a  body  of  cavalry  awaiting  transportation  over.  They  were 
said  to  be  Buell's  advance ;  yet  they  had  been  there  an  hour 
or  two  alone.  Suddenly  there  was  a  rustle  among  the  .gazers. 
They  saw  the  gleaming  of  the  gun-barrels,  and  they  caught, 
amid  the  leaves  and  undergrowth  down  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  glimpses  of  the  steady,  swinging  tramp  of  trained  sol- 
diers. A  division  of  Buell's  army  was  there,  and  was  hailed 
with  tremendous  cheers  by  the  men  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river.  , 

The  enemy  was  reinforced  on  Monday  morning  by  more  troops 
than  Gen.  Beauregard  could  have  counted  upon.  The  divisions 
of  Gens.  Nelson,  McCook,  Crittenden  and  Thomas  of  Buell's 
army  had  crossed  the  river,  some  25,000  strong;  also,  Gen.  L. 
Wallace's  division  of  Gen.  Grant's*  army  had  been  moved  up 
the  river — making  at  least  33,000  fresh  troops.  Vigorous 
preparations  were  made  by  Gen.  Beauregard  to  resist  the  as- 
sault, which  was  deemed  almost  certain  on  Monday.  A  hot 
fire  of  musketry,  opened  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  from 
the  enemy's  quarter  upon  his  advanced  lines,  and  assured  him 
of  the  junction  of  his  forces.     The  battle  soon  raged  with  fury, 


*  The  evidence  of  a  "lost  opportunity"  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh  abundantly 
appeared  iu  the  statements  of  the  Northern  commanders.  Gen.  Preitfiss  is 
reported  to  have  mado  the  following  statement :  "  Gen.  Beauregard,"  he  said, 
li  asked  me  if  we  had  any  works  at  the  river,  to  which  I  replied,  'you  must 
consider  us  poor  soldiers,  general,  if  you  supposed  we  would  have  neglected 
so  plain  a  duty !'  The  truth  is,  however,  we  had  no  works  at  all.  Gen.  Beau- 
regard stopped  the  pursuit  at  a  quarter  to  six;  had  he  used  the  hour  still  left 
him,  he  could  have  captured  the  last  man  on  this  side  of  the  river,  for  Bucll 
did  n*t  cross  till  Sunday  night." 

Aocording  to  Buell's  report,  our  shot  were  falling  among  the  fugitives 
crouching  under  the  river  bank  when  our  troops  were  called  off. 


340'  THE   FIRST   YEAR   Of   THE   WAR. 

the  enemy  being  flushed  by  bis  reinforcements  and  confident 
in  bis  largely  superiour  numbers." 

On  the  right  and  centre,  the  enemy  were  repulsed  in  every 
attempt  he  made  with  his  heavy  columns  in  that  quarter  of  the 
field ;  on  the  left,  however,  and  nearest  to  the  point  of  arrival 
of  his  reinforcements,  he  drove  forward  line  after  line  of  his 
fresh  troops,  which  were  met  with  resolution  and  courage. 
Again^and  again  our  troops  were  brought  to  the  charge,  inva- 
riably to  win  the  position  at  issue,  invariably  to  drive  back  their 
foe.  But  hour  by  hour,  thus  opposed  to  an  enemy  constantly 
reinforced,  the  ranks  of  the  Confederates  were  perceptibly 
thinned  under  the  unceasing  withering  fire  of  the  enemy.  By 
noon,  eighteen  'hours  of  hard  fighting  had  sensibly  exhausted 
a  large  number ;  Gen.  Beauregard's  last  reserves  had  neces- 
sarily been  disposed  of,  and  the  enemy  was  evidently  receiving 
fresh  reinforcements  after  each  repulse  ;  accordingly,  about 
1  P.  M.,  he  determined  to  withdraw  from  so  unequal  a  con- 
flict, securing  such  of  tne  results  of  the. victory  of  the  day 
before  as  was  then  practicable. 

The  retreat  was  executed  with  uncommon  steadiness,  and 
the  enemy  made  no  attempt  to  follow.  Gen.  Breckinridge 
had  been  posted  with  his  command  so  as  to  cover  the  with- 
drawal of  the  rest  of  the  army.  Gen.  Beauregard  had  ap- 
proached him  and  told  him,  that  it  might  be  necessary  for  him 
to  sacrifice  himself;  for  said  he,  "  This  retreat  must  not  be  a 
rout !  You  must  hold  the  enemy  back  if  it  requires  the  loss 
of  your  last  man!"  "Your  orders  shall  be  executed  to  the 
letter,"  said  the  chivalrous  Breckinridge ;  and  gathering  his 
command,  fatigued  and  jaded  and  decimated  by  the  toils  and 
terrors  of  a  two  days'  battle,  he  and  they  prepared  to  devote 
themselves,  if  necessary,  for  the  safety  of  the  army.  There, 
weary  and  hungry,  they  stood  guard  and  vigil.  The  enemy, 
sorely  chastised,  did  not  indeed  come  as  expected ;  but  Breck- 
inridge and  his  heroes  deserve  none  the  less  praise. 

Never  did  troops  leave  a  battle-field  in  better  order.  Even 
the  stragglers  fell  into  the  ranks,  and  marched  off  with  those 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  341 

who  had  stood  more  steadily  by  their  colours.  The  fact  that 
the  enemy  attempted  no  pursuit  indicates  their  condition. 
They  had  gained  nothing ;  we  had  lost  nothing.  The  Confed- 
erates left  the  field  only  after  eight  hours  of  incessant  battle 
with  a  superiour  army  of  fresh  troops,  whom  they  had  repulsed 
in  every  attack  on  their  lines — so  repulsed  and  crippled,  in- 
deed, as  to  leave  it  unable  to  take  the  field  for  the  campaign 
for  which  it  was  collected  and  equipped  at  such  enormous  ex-  ■ 
pense,  and  with  such  profusion  of  all  the  appliances  of  Avar. 
The  action  of  Monday  had  not  eclipsed  the  glorious  victory  of 
the  preceding  day.  Sunday  had  left  the  Confederate  army 
masters  of  the  battle-field,  their  adversary  beaten  and  a  signal 
victory  achieved  after  an  obstinate  conflict  of  twelve  hours. 

The  result  of  the  engagement  was  most  honourable  to  the 
South,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
triumphs  to  its  arms.  The  exultations,  however,  of  victory  in 
the  public  mind  were  perceptibly  tempered  by  the  sad  intelli- 
gence of  the  death  of  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston. 

The  deceased  commander  had  led,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most 
eventful  military  lives  on  this  continent.  He  was  graduated 
at  the  West  Toint  Academy  in  1820,  as  lieutenant  in  the  Sixth 
Infantry,  and  after  serving  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  left  the 
army,  and  in  183G  emigrated  to  Texas,  arriving  there  shortly 
after  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto.  He-entered  the  Texan  army 
as  a  private  soldier,  and  was  soon  promoted  to  succeed  Gen. 
Felix  Houston  in  the  chief  command — an  event  which  led  to  a. 
duel  between,  them,  in  which  Johnston  was  wounded.  Having 
held  the  office  of  senior  brigadier-general  until  1838,  he  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  War,  and  in  1839  organized  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Cherokees,  who  were  totally  routed  in  an  en- 
gagement on  the  Neches.  In  1840,  he  retired  from  office,  and; 
settled  upon  a  plantation  in  Brazoria  county.  He  was  an 
ardent  advocate  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United 
States.  In  1846,  at  the  request  of  Gen.  Taylor,  he  took  the 
field  against  Mexico,  as  commander  of  the  volunteer  Texan 
rifle  regiment,  in  which  capacity  he  served  six  months.     Sub- 


342  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

sequently,  he  was  acting  inspector-general  to  Gen.  Butler,  and 
for  bis  services  at  the  siege  of  Monterey  received  the  thanks 
of  his  commander.  In  October,  1849,  he  was  appointed  pay- 
master by  President  Taylor,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and,  upon 
the  passage  of  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  raising  of 
additional  regiments  in  the  array,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of 
the  Second  Cavalry.  In  the  latter  part  of  1857,  he  received 
the  command  of  the  United  States  forces  sent  to  coerce  the 
Mormons  into  obedience  to  the  Federal  authority,  and  con- 
ducted the  expedition  in  safety  to  Great  Salt  Lake  City  in  the 
opening  of  the  succeeding  year.  Since  then  he  commanded' 
the  military  district  of  Utah.  He  resigned  the  Federal  service 
as  soon  as  the  intelligence  of  the  opening  of  the  war  reached 
him,  and,  travelling  from  California  by  the  overland  route, 
reached  New  Orleans  in  August  last.  Proceeding  to  Rich- 
mond, he  was  appointed,  on  his  arrival  there,  general,  to  take 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  Mississippi. 

It  is  known  that  Gen.  Johnston  was  the  subject  of  most  un- 
just and  hasty  public  censure  in  connection  with  his  late  retreat 
from  Bowling  Green  and  fall  of  fort  Donelson.  He  is  said,  but 
a  few  days  before  the  battle  in  which  he  fell,  to  have' expressed 
the  determination  to  discharge  his  duties  and  responsibilities  to 
his  country,  according  to  the  best  convictions  of  his  mind,  and 
a  resolution  to  redeem  his  losses  at  no  distant  day.  According 
to  the  official  reporl,  he  fell  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

Keen  regrets  were  felt  by  the  friends  of  Gen.  Johnston  on 
learning  the  circumstances  of  the  manner  of  his  death,  as  these 
circumstances  appeared  to  leave  but  little  doubt  that  his  life 
might  have  been  saved  by  surgical  attention  to  his  wound.  His 
only  wound  was  from  a  musket  ball  that  severed  an  inconsider- 
able artery  in  the  thigh.  He  was  probably  unconscious  of  the 
wound,  and  never  realized  it  until,  from  the  loss  of  blood,  he 
fell  fainting  and  dying  from  his  horse. 

Gen.  Johnston  was  in  the  natural  vigour  of  manhood,  about 
sixty  years  of  age.  He  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  strongly 
and  powerfully  formed,  with  a  grave,  dignified  and  command- 


THEj  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  343 

ing  presence.  His  features  were  strongly  marked,  showing  the* 
Scottish  lineage,  and  denoted  great  resolution  and  composure 
of  character.  His  complexion,  naturally  fair,  was,  from  ex- 
posure, a  deep  brown.  His  manner  was  courteous,  but  rather 
grave  and  silent.  He  had  many  devoted  friends,  but  they 
had  been  won  and  secured  rather  by  the  native  dignity  and 
nobility  of  his  character,  than  by  his  power  of  address. 

Besides  the  conspicuous  loss  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
others  had  fallen  whose  high  qualities  were  likely  to  be  missed 
in  the  momentous  campaign  impending.  Gen.  Gladden,  of 
South  Carolina,  had  fallen,  after  having  been  conspicuous  to 
his  whole  corps  and  the  army  for  courage  and  capacity.  Dis- 
tinguished in  Mexico,  on  the  bloody  fields  of  Contreras  and 
Churubusco,  he  received  honourable  wounds.  Having  become 
a  citizen  of  Louisiana,  and  selected  4o  command  a  noble  bri- 
gade, he  again  accumulated  honour  upon  his  native  State, 
illustrated  its  martial  fame,  served  her  no  less  than  Louisiana 
with  his  life,  and  sealed  the  great  cause  "with  his  best  blood. 

Georg^  M.  Johnston,  Provisional  Governor  of  Kentucky, 
had  gone  into  the  action  with  the  Kentucky  troops.  Having 
his  horse  shot  under  him  on  Sunday,  he  entered  the  ranks  of  a 
Kentucky  company,  commanded  by  Capt.  Monroe,  son  of  the 
venerable  Judge  Monroe.  At  aight,  while  occupying  the  same 
tent  with  the  .captain,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  not  taken 
the  oath  which  entitled  him  to  be*  enrolled  in  that  company. 
He,  therefore,  desired  the  oath  to  be  administered,  which  was 
done  with  due  solemnity;  "arid  now,"  said  the  new  recruit, 
"  I  will  take-  a  night's  rest,  and  be  ready  for  a  good  day's 
fighting."  Faithfully  he  kept  his  pledge,  and  fell  mortally 
wounded  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  In  making  official  men- 
tion of  his  death,  Gen.  Beauregard  declared  that  "  not  Ken- 
tucky aldne,  but  the  whole  Confederacy  had  sustained  a  great 
loss  in  the  death  of  this  brave,  upright  and  able  man."  He 
was  one  of  a  family  of  heroes,  the  nephew  of  the  dauntless 
chief  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  and  the  man  who,  during  a 
long  public  and  private  career,  had  been  ever  regarded  one  of 


344  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   fAR.      • 

•the  noblest  of  Kentucky  chevaliers,  true  and  worthy  Governor 
of  all  that  was  left  of  Kentucky. 

The  fearless  deportment  of  the. Confederate  commanders  in 
the  action  was  remarkable,  as  they  repeatedly  led  their  com- 
mands personally  to  the  onset  upon  their  powerful  adversary. 
Gen.  Bragg  had  two  horses  shot  under  him.  .  Gen.  Breckin- 
k  ridge  was  twice  struck  by  spent  balls.  Major-General  Hardee 
had  his  coat  rent  by  balls  and  his  horse  disabled,  but  escaped  • 
with  a  sliglit  wound.  Gen.  Cheatham  received  a  ball  in  the 
shoulder,  and  Gen.  Bushrod  Johnson  one  in  the  side.  Gen. 
Bowen  was  wounded  in  the  neck.  Col!  Adams,  of  the  First 
Louisiana  regulars,  succeeded  Gen.  Gladden  in  the  command 
of  the  right  wing,  and  was  soon  after  shot,  the  ball* striking  him 
just  above  the  eye  and  coming  out  behind  the  ear.  Col.  Kit't . 
Williams,  of  Memphis,  arwl  Col.  Blythe,  of  Mississippi,  formerly 
.   consul  to  Havana,  were  killed.  ' 

The  casualties  of  the  battle  of  Shiloh  were  terrible.  In  car- 
nage, the  engagement  'might  have  compared  with  some  of  the 
most  celebrated  in  the  world.  Our  loss  in  the  twc^'days  in 
killed  outright  was  1,728;  wounded,  8,012;  missing,  959 — 
making  an  aggregate  of  casualties  of  10,699.  The  loss  of  the 
enemy  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners  unquestionably  could 
not  have  been  less  than  15,000a 

The"  suffering  among  the  large  numbers  of  our  wounded  was 
extreme.  They  continued  to  come  in  from  the  field  slowly, 
but  it  was  a  long  and  agonizing  ride  that  the  poor  fellows 
had  to  endure,  over  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  miles  of  the 
roughest  and  rattiest  road  in  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The 
weather  was  horrible,  and  a -cold  northeast  storm  pelted  merci- 
lessly clown  upon  them.  As  they  were  carried,  groaning,  from 
the  vehicle  to  the  floor  of  the  hospital,  or  laid  in  the  depot,  it 
was  sad  to  see  the  suffering  depicted  upon  their  pinched  and 
pallid  features.  Some  of  them  had  lain  on  the  ground  in  the 
mud  for  two  nights,  and  were  wet  to  the  skin  and  shivering 
with  chills. 

In  view  of  the  immense  carnage  of  the*  battle  of  Shiloh,  it 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  345 

"was  popularly  esteemed  the  great  battle  of  the  war,  and  was 
declared  by  the  Southern  newspapers  to  take  preference  over 
the  celebrated  action  of  Manassas.  Indeed,  the  rank  which 
the  Manassas  battle  held  in  the  history  of  the  war  was  disputed 
by  newspaper  critics  on  every  occasion  when  some  other  action 
presented  a  larger  list  of  casualties  or  more  prolonged  scenes 
of  conflict.  But  these  circumstances,  by  themselves,  certainly 
afford  no  standard  for  measuring  the  importance  and  grandeur 
of  battles.  It  is  true  that  the  action  of  Shiloh  was  a  brilliant 
Confederate  success.  But  in  dramatic  situation,  in  complete- 
ness of  victory,  in  interesting  details,  and  in  the  grand  histori- 
cal tragedy  of  the  enemy's  rout,  no  battle  has  yet  been  fought* 
in  the  war  equal  to  that  of  Manassas,  and,  so  far,  it  must  hold 
its  place  in  the  history  of  the  first  year  of  the  war  as  its  grand 
battle,  despite  the  efforts  of  interested  critics  to  outrank  its 
grandeur,  by  that  of  other  achievements  and  to  do  violence  to 
the  justice  of  history. 

There  was  one  very  remarkable  circumstance  in  the  battle 
of  Manassas,  which  alone  must  give  it  an  interest  distinguished 
from  that  of  any  other  engagement  of  the  war.  It  was  that, 
in  the  army  which  achieved  that  victory,  there  was  represented, 
by  troops,  every  State  then  in  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

At  Shiloh,  the  troops  engaged  were  principally  Tennessee- 
ans,  Mississippians,  Alabamians,  Louisianians,  Floridians,  Tcx- 
ans,  Arkansians  and  Kentuckians.  There  was  also  a  battery 
of  Georgians  in  the  field.  The  behaviour  of  these  troops  had 
given  us  additional  reason  for  the  pride  so  justly  felt  in  South- 
ern arms  anil  Southern  prowess.  Each  and  all  of  them  fought 
so  bravely  that  no  distinction  can  be  made  between  corps  from 
different  States.  Battle*  are  won,  by  each  soldier  feeling  that 
the  day  depends  upon  his  own  individual  efforts,  and,  on  the 
field  of  Shiloh,  this  spirit  was  displayed,  unless  in  rare  instances 
of  cowardice,  or  the  more«numerous  exceptions  of  demoraliza- 
tion by  the  pillage,  which  had  unfortunately  been  permitted  of 
the  enemy's  camp. 


346  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

The  misrepresentations  of  the  North,  with  reference  to  the 
issues  of  the  war,  found  a  crowning  example  of  falsehood  and 
effrontery  in  the  official  declaration  made  at  Washington  of 
the  action  of  Shiloh  as  a  brilliant  and  glorious  Federal,  vic- 
tory. The  Lincoln  government  had  not  hesitated  to  keep  up 
the  spirits  of  the  people  of  the  North  by  the  most  audacious 
and  flaming  falsehoods,  which  would  have  disgraced  even  the 
war  bulletins  of  the  Chinese,  and  which  have  always  been 
found  to  be  in  nations  using  this  expedient  in  war,  evidences 
not  only  of  imperfect  civilization,  but  of  natural  cowardice. 
The  order  of  the  War  Department  at  Washington,  signalizing 
its  impostured  victory  at  Shiloh,  was  as  disgusting  in  profanity 
as  it  was  brazen  in  falsehood.  It  declared  that  at  meridian 
of  Sunday  next  after  the  receipt  of  this  order,  at  the  head  of 
every  regiment  in  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  there  should 
be  offered  by  its  chaplain  a  prayer,  giving  "  thanks  to  the  Lord 
of  Hosts  for  the  recent  manifestation  of  His  power  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  rebels  and  traitors."  One  of  the  Federal 
generals  who  was  incidentally  complimented  in  this  order — 
H.  W.  Halleck — for  his  "success"  in  the  Missouri  campaign, 
had  written  a  voluminous  letter  to  the  Washington  Cabinet 
recommending  the  policy  of  representing  every  battle^  in  the 
progress  of  the  war  as  a  Federal  victory.  A  government, 
which  Mr.  Seward  had  declared,  in  his  letter  to  the  British 
premier  on  the  occasion  of  his  cringing  surrender  to  that  power 
of  the  Southern  commissioners,  represented  "  a  civilized  and 
humane  nation,  a  christian  people,"  had  been  persuaded  to 
stoop  to  a  policy  which  even  the  spirit  and  honour  of  brigands 
might  have  scorned,  and  which  is  never  recognized  but  as  a 
weapon  of  the  vilest  and  most  cowardly  of  humanity. 

Gen.  Beauregard  retired  to  Corinth,,  in  pursuance  of  his 
original  design  to  make  that  the  strategic  point  of  his  cam- 
paign. The  Federals  had  sent  several  expeditions  into  North 
Alabama,  and  had  succeeded  in  occupying  Huntsville  and  De- 
catur ;  but  the  design  of  these  expeditions  did  not  appear  to 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  347 

extend  further  than  an  attempt  to  cripple  our  resources  by 
cutting  off  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad,  which  runs 
through  these  towns. 

In  the  meantime,  it  was  decided  by  the  government  at  Rich- 
mond to  remove  our  forces  from  the  Trans-Mississippi  district, 
and  to  unite  the  armies  of  Van  Dorn  and  Price  with  such  force 
as  Gen.  Beauregard  already  had  at  Corinth.  The  order  for 
leaving  the  limits  of  their  States  was  responded  to  by  the  Mis- 
souri and  Arkansas  troops  with  ready  and  patriotic  spirit. 
These  brave  men  gave  an  example  of  gallantry  and  devotion, 
in  leaving  their  homes  and  soil  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy, 
to  fight  for  other  parts  of  the  Confederacy,  which  was  made 
especially  conspicuous  from  the  contrast  afforded  by  the  troops 
of  some  other  States  which  had  made  unusually  large  preten- 
sions to  patriotism  and  gallantry,  regiments  of  which  had 
openly  cnutinied  at  being  ordered  beyond  the  limits  of  their 
State,  or  had  marched  off  with  evident  discontent,  although 
no  enemy  held  their  territory,  or  was  left  in  possession  of  their 
homes  and  the  treasures  they  contained. 

The  noble  "State  Guard"  of  Missouri  had  a  better  appre- 
ciation of  the  duties  of  patriotism  than  many  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  Confederacy  whose  contracted  and  boastful 
spirit  had  made  them  louder  in  professions  of  chivalry  and 
devotion.  They  followed  their  beloved  commander  without  a 
murmur  across  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  turning  their 
backs  upon  their  homes,  for  which  they  had  fought,  with  a 
gallantry  and  devotion  unequalled  by  any  other  struggle  of 
the  war.  They  felt  that  while  they  were  fighting  for  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Confederacy,  they  were  also  contending  for  the 
ultimate  restoration  of  Missouri,  and  that  they  would  serve 
their  State  most  effectually  by  following  promptly  and  cheer- 
fully Gens.  Van  Dorn  and  Price  to  Tennessee.  Their  leader 
had  been  made  a  major-general  in  the  Confederate  service ;  the 
tardy  act  of  promotion  having  been  at  last  done  from  motives  of 
policy,  after  all  efforts  had  been  made  in  vain  to  wring  it  from 
the  obtuse  official  sense  of  justice.     His  influence  was  used  to 


348  THE    FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

lead  the  troops  of  Missouri  to  new  and  distant  fields  of  ser-  • 
vice,  and  his  noble  patriotic  appeals  could  not  but  be  effectual 
to  men  who  loved  him,  who  had  suffered  with  him,  and  were 
almost  as  his  children.* 

*  The  annexed  address  of  Gen.  Price  to  the  troops,  who  followed  him  across 
the  Mississippi  into  the  Confederate  camp,  will  strike  the  reader  as  an  ad- 
mirable appeal.  Comprehensive  in  its  terms,  Napoleonic  in  spirit,  and  glow- 
ing with  patriotic  fire,  it  challenges  comparison  with  some  of  the  military 
orders  of  the  most  celebrated  commanders  in  history : 

Headquarters  Missouri  State  Guard,  "I    • 
Des  Arc,  Arkansas,  April  3,  1862.      J 
Soldiers  of  the  Slate  Guard : 

I  command  you  no  longer.  I  have  this  day  resigned  the  commission 
which  your  patient  endurance,  your  devoted  patriotism,  and  your  dauntless 
bravery  have  made  so  honourable.  I  have  done  this  that  I  may  the  better 
serve  you,  our  State,  and  our  country — that  I  may  the  sooner  lead  you  back 
to  the  fertile  prairies,  the  rich  woodlands  and  majestic  streams  of  our  beloved 
Missouri — that  I  may  the  more  certainly  restore  you  to  your  once  happy 
homes  and  to  the  loved  ones  there. 

Five  .thousand  of  those  who  have  fought  side  by  side  with  us  under  the 
grizzly  bears  of  Missouri  have  followed  me  into  the  Confederate  camp.  They 
appeal  to  you,  as  I  do,  by  all  the  tender  memories  of  the  past,  not  to  leave  us 
now,  but  to  go  with  us  wherever  the  path  of  duty  may  lead,  till  we  shall  have 
conquered  a.  peace,  and  won  our  independence  by  brilliaat  deeds  upon  new 
fields  of  battle. 

Soldiers  of  the  State  Guard !  veterans  of  six  pitched  battles  and  nearly 
twenty  skirmishes !  conquerors  in  them  all!  your  country,  with  its  "ruined 
hearths  and  shrines,"  calls  upon  you  to  rally  once  more  in  her  defence,  and 
rescue  her  forever  from  the  terrible  thraldom  which  threatens  her.  I  know 
that  she  will  not  call  in  vain.  The  insolent  and  barbarous  hordes  which  have 
dared  to  invade  our  soil,  and  to  desecrate  our  homes,  have  just  met  with  a 
signal  overthrow  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Now  is  the  time  to  end  this  un- 
happy war.  If  every  man  will  but  do  his  chaty,  his  own  roof  will  shelter  him 
in  peace  from  the  storms  of  the  coming  winter. 

Let  not  history  record  that  the  men  who  bore  with  patience  the  privations 
of  Cowskin  Prairie,  who  endured  uncomplainingly  the  burning  heats  of  a 
Missouri  summer,  and  the  frosts  and  snows  of  a  Missouri  winter;  that  the 
men  who  met  the  enemy  at  Carthage,  at  Oak  Hills,  at  Fort  Scott,  at  Lexing- 
ton, and  in  numberless  lesser  battle-fields  in  Missouri,  and  met  them  but  to 
conquer  them  ;  that  the  men  who  fought  so  bravely  and  so  well  at  Elk  Horn; 
that  the  ifnpaid  soldiery  of  Missouri  were,  after  so  many  victories,  and  after 
so  much  suffering,  unequal  to  the  great  task  of  achieving  the  independence 
of  their  magnificent  State. 

Soldiers  !  I  go  but  to  mark  a  pathway  to  our  homes.     Follow  me ! 

STERLING  PRICE. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THi  WAR.  349    » 

It  was  generally  considered  in  the  South  that  the  victory  of 
its  arms  at  Shiloh  fully  compensated  the  loss  of  Island  No.  10, 
and  that  t;he  Mississippi  River  below  Fort  Tillow,  with  its  rich 
and  productive  valley,  might  be  accounted  safe,  with  the  great 
army  at  Corinth  covering  Memphis,  and  holding  the*  enemy  in 
pheck  on  the  land.  But  a  great  disaster  was  to  occur  where 
it  was  least  expected,  and  where  it  involved  the  most  immense 
consequences — a  disaster  which  was  to  astound  the  South, 
which  was  to  shake  the  confidence  of  the  world  in  the  fortunes 
of  the.  Confederacy,  and  which  was  to  lead  by  unavoidable 
steps  to  tlfe  abandonment  to  the  enemy  of  the  great  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi. 

THE   FALL   OF   NEW    ORLEANS. 

When  it  was  known  in  Richmond  that  the  Federal  fleet, 
,  which  had  so  long  threatened  New  Orleans,  had  at  last  com- 
menced an  attack  on  the  Mississippi  River  forts,  Jackson  and 
StT  Philip,  no  uneasiness  was  felt  for  the  result.  The  enemy's 
fleet,  which  was  to  be  engaged  in  this  demonstration,  was  of 
formidable  size.  It  consisted  of  forty-six  sail,  carrying  two 
hundred  and  eighty-six  guns  and  twenty-one  mortars  ;  the 
whole  under  command  of  Flag-Officer  Farragut,  a  renegade 
Tennesseean.  Rut  ii  was  declared,  with  the  most  emphatic 
confidence,  that  New  Orleans  was  impregnable ;  the  forts, 
Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  were  considered  but  as  the  outer  line, 
of  defences ;  vast  sums  of  money  had  been  expended  to  line 
the  shores  of  the  river  With  batteries ;.  the  city  itself  was  occu- 
pied by  what  was  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  large  and  disci- 
plined Confederate  force  under  Gen.  Lovell,  and  in  its  harbour 
was  a  fleet  consisting  of  twelve  gun-boats,  one  iron-clad  steamer 
and  the  famous  ram  Manassas. 

The  authorities  at  Richmond  did  not  hesitate  to  express  the 
most  unlimited  confidence  in  the  safety  of  New  Orleans,  and 
refused  even  to  entertain  the  probability  of  the  enemy's  pene- 
trating the  outer  line  of  defence,  constituted  by  the  river  forts, 
which  were  about  sixty  miles  below  the  city.    General  Duncan, 


350  THE  F?RST  year  of  the  war. 

who  was  said  to  be  the  best  artillerist  in  the  Confederate  ser- 
vice, -was  in  command  of  the  forts.  On  the  23d  of  April  he 
had  telegraphed  the  most  encouraging  account  of  their  condi- 
tion. The  bombardment  had  then  been  continued  for  a  week 
with  extraordinary  vigour.  Nearly  25,000  thirteen-inch  shell 
had  been  thrown  by  the  enemy's  mortar  bojits,  many  thousands 
having  fallen  within  the  fort.  But,  in  spite  of  this  unremitting 
bombardment,  the  works  were  not  at  all  damaged;  only  three 
guns  had  been  dismounted,  and  the  garrison  had  suffered  only 
to  the  extent  of  five  killed  and  ten  wounded. 

The  public  were  inspired  with  confidence  of  a  favourable 
result.  The  citizens  of  New  Orleans,  never  doubting  the 
impregnability  of  the  defences  of  their  city,  were  occupied  as 
usual  with  the  avocations  of  business  and  trade.  TJie  morning 
succeeding  the  date  of  the  encouraging  telegram  of  General 
Duncan  was  to  witness  scenes  of  the  most  extraordinary  con- 
sternation, and  to  usher  in  the  appalling  intelligence  of  the 
enemy's  approach  to  the  city. 

At  half-past  three  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of 
April,  the  Federal  fleet  steamed  up  the  river  and  opened  on 
our  gun-boats  and  both  the  forts,  Jackson  and  St.  Philip.  The 
fire  was  vigorously  returned  by  our  side,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  became  perfectly  furious,  the  enemy's  fleet  and  our  whole 
force  being  engaged.  In  about  one  hour  several  of  the  enemy's 
^vessels  passed  the  forts — the  first  one  in  the  advance  having 
our  night  signal  flying,  which  protected  her  from  the  fire  of 
our  boats,  until  she  ran  up  close  and  opened  the  fire  herself. 

The  citizens  of  New  Orleans  were  awakened  from  their  dream 
of  security  to  hear  the  tolling  of  the  alarm  bells  announcing  the 
approach  of  the  foe.  It  was  about  9  o'clock,  on  the  morning 
of  the  24th,  that  the.intelligence  was  received.  The  whole  city 
was  at  once  thrown  into  intense  commotion ;  every  one  rushed 
into  the  streets — to  the  public  places — to  headquarters — to  the 
City  Hall — inquiring  the  meaning  of  the  agitation  which  pre- 
vailed, the  extent  of  the  danger,  and  its  proximity.  It  was 
soon  announced,  on  authority,  that  the  enemy's  vessels  had 


THE   FIRST   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  351 

• 

succeeded  in  passing  the  forts  and  were  then  on  their  way  to 
the  city.  The  number  was  not  known,  but  was  afterwards 
ascertained  to  amount  to  five  heavy  sloops  of  war  and  seven  or 
eight  gun-boats. 

The  attempt  of  the  enemy  hail  been  audacious,  but  was  aided 
by  ^various  contingencies.  •  The  defences  of  the  Mississippi 
consisted  of  the  two  forts  already  mentioned — Jackson  and  St. 
Philip — the  former  situated  on  the  left  bank,  and  the  latter  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river.  About  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
below,  the  river  had  been  obstructed  by  means  of  a  raft  con- 
sisting of  a  line  of  eleven  dismasted  schooners,  extending  from 
bank  to  bank,  strongly  moored,  and  connected  together  with 
six  heavy  chains.  Unfortunately,  a  violent  storm  had  rent  a 
large  chasm  in  the  raft,  which  could  not  be  closed  in  time. 

It  appears,  too,  that,  on  the  night  of  the  attack,  the  river 
had  not  been  lighted  by  fire-rafts,  although  General  Lovell  had 
several  times  requested  that  it  should  be  done.  Moreover,  the 
person  in  charge  of  the  signals  neglected  to  throw  up  rockets 
on  the  approach  of  the  fleet,  and,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  the 
enemy's  signals,  on  that  night,  were  identically  the  same  as 
those  used  by  our  gun-boats.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
advance)  of  the  enemy's  vessels  was  not  discovered  until  they 
were  abreast  of  the  forts. 

The  conflict  between  the  Federal  fleet  and  our  fleet  and  forts 
was  of  a  desperate  character.  The  forts  opened  fire  from  all 
their  guns  that  could  be  brought  to  bear;  but  it  was  too  late 
to  produce  much  impression.  The  ships  passed  on,  the  Hart- 
ford, Commodore  Farragut's  flag  ship  in  the  van,  delivering 
broadsides  of  grape,  schrapmel  and  round  shot  at  the  forts  on 
either  side.  On  arriving  at  this  point,  they  encountered  the 
Confederate  fleet,  consisting  of  seventeen  vessels  in  all,  only 
about  eight  of  which  were  armed.  The  Confederate  gun-boats 
carried,  some  of  them,  two  guns,  and  others  only  one.  Never- 
theless, they  fought  with  desperation  against  the  enemy's  over- 
whelming force,  until  they  were  all  driven  on  shore  and  scuttled 
or   burned   by   their   commanders.     The    Manassas   was   not 


352  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

• 

injured  hf  the  enemy's  fire.  She  was  run  ashore  and  then 
sunk.  The  Louisiana,  the  great  iron-clad  vessel  built  to  com- 
pete with  the  success  lately  won  by  the  famous  Virginia,  was 
not  in  good  working  order.  She  could  not  manoeuvre,  and 
only  her  three  bow  guns  could 'be  used,  although  her  full  com- 
plement consisted  of  eighteen.  She  emerged  from  the  action 
totally  uninjured.  The  broadsides  of  the  Pensacola,  delivered 
three  times,  within  a  distance  of  ten  yards,  failed  to  loosen  a 
single  fastening,  or  to  penetrate  a  single  plate.  The  forts, 
likewise,  remained  intact ;  but  the  garrisons  lost  52  in  killed 
and  wounded.  CommanderMdntosh  was  desperately  wounded. 
He  and  Commander  Mitchell  both  stood  on  the  deck  of  the- 
Louisiana  during  the  whole  engagement. 

Gen.  Lovell  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  the  Federal  fleet  pass- 
ing Fort  St.  Philip,  and  to  witness  the  desperate  but  ineffectual 
attempt  of  the  Confederate  gun-boats  to  check  its  progress  up 
the  river.  Just  at  this  moment,  the  Iroon,  one  of  the  enemy's 
vessels,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  Doubloon,  Gen.  Lovell's  boat, 
and  was  rapidly  overhauling  her,  when  the  Governor  Moore 
darted  upon  the  Iroon, 'and  ran  into  her  three  times.  The 
Federal  vessel  managed  to  escape  from  this  assault,  and  was 
again  chasing  the  Doubloon,  when  the  Quitman  attacked  her, 
ran  into  her  amidships,  and  sank  her.  Thus  General  Lovell 
narrowly  escaped  capture.  In  the  meantime,  Captain  Kennon, 
commanding  the  gun-boat  Governor  Moore,  sped  down  the 
river  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  darting  hither  and 
thither,  attacking  fir^t  one  and  then  another  of  his  monstrous 
antagonists,  until  he  had  fired  away  his  last  round  of  ammu- 
nition. He  then  drove  his  vessel  ashore  and  applied  the  torch 
to  her  with  his  own 'hand.  In  this  way  the  forts  were  eluded, 
the  Confederate  naval  forces  destro^yed,  and  the  great  city  of 
New  Orleans  placed  at  the  mercy  of  the  Federal  squadron. 

At  2  o'clock,  P.M.,  on  the  24th,  General  Lovell  arrived,  at. 
the  city,  having  driven  and  ridden  almost  the  whole  way  up 
along  the  levee.     He  was  immediately  called  on  by  the  mayor 
and  many  other  citizens,  and  in  reply  to  the  inquiries  of  these 


THIjf  FIRST  TEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  353 

gentlemen,  stated  that  tjie  intelligence  already  received  was 
correct ;  that  the  enemy's  fleet  had  passed  the  forts  in  force, 
and  that  the  city  was  indefensible  and  untenable. 

The  hasty  withdrawal  of  Gen.  Lovell's  army  from  the  city 
drew  upon  him  severe  public  censure;  but  the  applications  of 
this  censure  were  made  in  ignorance  of  the  facts,  and  the  evi- 
dence which  afterwards  transpired  showed  that  the  evacuation 
had  been  made  at  the  urgent  instance  of  the  civil  authorities 
themselves  of  New  Orleans,  who  had  entreated  the  Confederate 
commander  to  retire  from  their  midst,  in  order  to  save  the  city 
from  the  risk  of  bombardment.  Gen.  Lovell  expressed  a  readi- 
ness and  willingness  to  remain  with  all  the  troops  under  his 
command.  But  it  was  the  undivided  expression  of  public 
opinion  that  the  army  had  better  retire  and  save  the  city  from 
destruction ;  and,  accordingly,  the  general  ordered  his  troops 
to  rendezvous  at  Camp  Moore,  about  seventy  miles  above  New 
Orleans,  on  the  Jackson  railroad. 

A  demand  was  made  by  Farragut  for  the  surrender  of  the 
command,  which  Gen.  Lovell  positively  refused,  but  told  the 
officer  who  bore  the  message,  that  if  any  Federal  troops  were 
landed  he  would  attack  them.  Two  days  after  he  retired,  it 
was  said  that  the  city  had  changed  its  purpose,  and  preferred 
a  bombardment  to  occupation  by  the  enemy.  Gen.  Lovell 
promptly  ordered  a  train  and  proceeded  to  New  Orleans,  and 
immediately  had  an  interview  with  Mayor  Monroe,  offering,  if 
such  was  the  desire  of  the  authorities  and  people,  to  return 
with  his  command  and  hold  the  city  as  long  as  a  man  and  shot 
was  left. 

This  offer  not  being  accepted,  it  was  decided  that  the  safety 
of  the  large  number  of  unprotected  women  and  children  should 
be  looked  to,  and  that  the  fleet  would  be  permitted  to  take 
possession.  -The  raw  and  poorly  armed  infantry  could  by  this 
time  have  done  nothing  against  the  fleet. 

The  impression  which  prevailed,  that  General  Lovell  had  a 
large  army  under  his  command,  was  singularly  erroneous. 
His  army  had  been  stripped  to  reinforce  that  at  Corinth,  and, 
23 


354  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   w\iR. 

since  the  1st  of  March,  he  had  sent  ten  full  regiments  to  Gen. 
Beauregard,  besides  many  companies  of  cavalry  and  artillery. 
The  morning  report  on  the  day  of  the  evacuation  of  New  Or- 
leans showed  his  force  to  be  about  twenty-eight  hundred  men, 
two-thirds  of  whom  were  the  volunteer  and  militia  companies 
which  had  recently  been  put  in  camp. 

Notwithstanding  however  these  facts,  the  circumstances  in 
which  Gen.  Lovell  agreed  to  evacuate  the  city,  under  the  persua- 
sion of  the  civil  authorities,  appeared  by  no  means  to  be  in  that 
desperate  extremity  that  would  have  justified  the  step  in  mili- 
tary judgment;  and  it  was  thought  by  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  public,  not  without  apparent  reason,  that  the  .evacuation, 
at  the  time  it  was  undertaken,  was  ill-advised,  hasty  and  the  re- 
sult of  panic  or  selfish  clamours  in  the  community.  The  evacu- 
ation was  begun  on  the  24th  of  April.  At  this  time  the  river 
forts  had  not  fallen ;  but  two  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats  actually 
threatened  the  city;  and  the  works  at  Chalmette — five  32- 
pounders  on  one  side  of  the  river  and  nine  on  the  other — were 
still  intact.  But  it  is  known  that  there  were  reasons  other  than 
those  which  were  apparent  to  the  public,  which  decided  Gen. 
Lovell.  to  evacuate  the  city,  and  which  were  kept  carefully  to 
himself  for  obvious  reasons.  Gen.  Lovell  was  fully  aware  that 
a  single  frigate  anchored  at  Kenner's  plantation,  ten  miles 
above  the  city,  where  the  swamp  and  the  river  approached 
within  less  than  a  mile  of  each  other,  and  through  which  nar- 
row neck  the  railroad  passes,  would  have  effectually  obstructed 
an  exit  of  troops  or  stores  from  the  city  by  land.  This  was, 
doubtless,  the  real  or  most  powerful  reason  for  the  evacuation 

of  the  city.* 

• 

*  The  water  at  Kenner's  was  so  high  that  a  ship's  guns  could  have  had  a 
clear  sweep  from  the  river  to  the  swamp,  and  there  would  have  been  no  ne- 
cessity of  any  bombardment;  the  people  and  the  army  of  New  Orleans  would 
have  been  cut  off  and  starved  into  a  surrender  in  a  short  time.  The  failure 
of  the  enemy  to  occupy  Kenner's,  for  which  it  is  impossible  to  account,  ena- 
bled Gen.  Lovell  to  bring  out  of  the  city  nearly  all  the  portable  government 
property  necessary  for  war  purposes,  as  well  as  a  large  part  of  the  State 
property. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  355 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  the  Federal  ships  appeared  off 
the.  Chalmette  batteries,  which  exchanged  a  few  shots  with 
them,  but  without  effect.  Passing  the  lower  batteries,  the  ships 
came  up  the  river  under  full  headway,  the  Hartford  leading, 
then  the  Brooklyn,  the  Richmond,  the  Pensacola  and  six  gun- 
boats. On  and  on  they  came,  until  they  had  extended  j;heir  line 
a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  taking  positions  at  intervals  of 
about  900  yards  apart.  The  scene  on  the  water  and  in  the  city 
was  alike  extraordinary.  The  Confederate  troops  were  still 
busy  in  the  work  of  evacuation,  and  the.  streets  were  thronged 
with  carts,  drays,  vehicles  of  all  description,  laden  with  the 
multifarious  articles  constituting  the  paraphernalia  and  im- 
plements of  warfare.  Officers  on  horseback  were  galloping 
hither  and  thither,  receiving  and  executing  orders.  The 
streets  were  crowded  with  persons  rushing  about  with  parcels 
of  sugar,  buckets  of  molasses,  and  packages  of  provisions 
plundered  from  the  public  stores.  Others  were  busying  them- 
selves with  patriotic  zeal  to  destroy  property  of  value  to  the 
enemy,  and  huge  loads  of  cotton  went  rumbling  along  on  the 
way  to  the  levee. 

No  sooner  had  the  Federal  fleet  turned  the  point  and  come 
within  sight  of  the  city,  than  the  work  of  destruction  of  pro- 
perty commenced.  Vast  columns  of  smoke  ascended  to  the 
sky,  darkening  the  face  of  heaven,  and  obscuring  the  noon-day 
sun;  for  five  miles  along  the  levee  fierce  flames  darted  through 
the  lurid  atmosphere,  their  baleful  glare  struggling  in  rivalry 
with  the  sunlight;  great  ships  and  steamers,  wrapped  in  fire, 
floated  down  the  river,  threatening  the  Federal  vessels  with 
destruction  by  their  fiery  contact.  In  front  of  the  various 
presses,  and  at  other  points  along  the  levee,  the  cotton  had 
been  piled  up  and  submitted  to  the  torch.  It  was  burned  by 
order  of  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  and  of  the  military  com- 
mander of  the  Confederate  States.  Fifteen  thousand  bales 
were  consumed,  the  value  of  which  would  have  been  about  a. 
million  and  a.  half  of  dollars.  The  tobacco  stored  in  the  city, 
being  all  held  by  foreign  residents  on  foreign  account,  was  not 


356  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

destroyed.  The  specie  of  the  banks,  to  the  amount  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  millions,  was  removed  from  the  city  and  placed  in  a 
secure  place;  so  were  nearly  all  the  stores  and  moveable  pro- 
perty of  the  Confederate  States.  But  other  materials  were 
embraced  in  the  awful  conflagration.  About  a  dozen  large 
river  steamboats,  twelve  or  fifteen  ships,  some  of  them  laden 
with  cotton,  a  great  floating  battery,  several  unfinished  gun- 
boats, the  immense  ram,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  docks  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  were  all  embraced  in  the  fiery  sacrifice. 
The  Mississippi  was  an*  iron-clad  frigate,  a  superiour  vessel  of 
her  class,  and  accounted  to  be  by  far  the  most  important  naval 
structure  the  Confederate  government  had  yet  undertaken. 

On  evacuating  the  city,  Gen.  Lovell  had  left  it  under  the 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  Mayor  Monroe.  That  officer,  although 
he  had  appealed  to  Gen.  Lovell  to  evacuate  the  city,  so  as  to 
avoid  such  exasperation  of  conflict  as  might  put  the  city  in 
peril  of  bombardment,  was  not  willing  to  surrender  it  to  the 
enemy ;  but  was  content,  after  due  protestation  of  patriotic 
fervour,  that  the  enemy  should  perform,  without,  interruption, 
the  ceremony  of  surrender  for  himself  in  taking  down  the  flags 
flying  over  all  the  public  buildings  of  the  city.  A  correspond- 
ence ensued  between  the  mayor  and  the  flag-officer  of  the 
enemy's  fleet.  The  correspondence  was  certainly  of  very  un- 
necessary length  on  the  part  of  the  mayor,  and  was  travestied  ' 
in  the  Northern  newspapers  as  a  controversy  between  "  Far- 
rago and  Farragut."  But  the  sentiments  of  the  mayor  al- 
though tedious  and  full  of  vain  repetitions,  were  just  and 
honourable.  He  declared,  with  explanations  that  were  not 
necessary  to  be  given  to  the  enemy,  and  at  a  length  that 
showed  rather  too  much  the  vanity  of  literary  style,  that  the 
citizens  of  New  Orleans  yielded  to  physical  force  alone,  and 
that  they  maintained  their  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the 
Confederate  States. 

■  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  April,  a  force  landed  from 
the  sloop-of-war  Pensacola,  lying  opposite  Esplanade  street, 
and  hoisted  a  United  States  flag  upon  the  mint.     It  had  not 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  357 

remained  there  long  before  some  young  men,  belonging  to  the 
Pinckney  battalion,  mounted  to  the  dome  of  the  mint,  tore  it 
down  and  dragged  it  through  the  streets. 

Whether  Flag-Officer  Farragut  was  exasperated  or  not  by 
this  circumstance,  is  not  known ;  but  he  seemed  to  have  de- 
termined to  spare  no  mortification  to  the  city,  which  its  civil 
officers  had  already  assured  him  was  unprepared  to  resist  him, 
and  to  hesitate  at  no  misrepresentation  in  order  to  vilify  its 
citizens.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  mayor,  he  had  sought  to 
publish  the  fact  to  the  world,  that  helpless  men,  women  and 
children  had  been  fired  upon  by  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans 
"lor  giving  expression  to  their  pleasure  at  witnessing  the  old 
flag;"  Avfien  the  fact  was,  that  the  cheering  on  the  levee  re- 
ferred to  had  been,  in  defiance  of  the  enemy,  for  "the  Southern 
Confederacy,"  and  the  only  firing  in  the  crowd  was  that  of 
incautious  and  exasperated  citizens  at  the  Federal  fleet. 

The  State  flag  of  Louisiana  still  floated  from  the  City  Hall. 
It  was  an  emblem  of  nothing  more  than  State  sovereignty,  and 
yet  it,  too,  was  required  to  be  lowered  at  the  unreasonable  and 
harsh  demand  of  the  inrader.  A  memorial,  praying  the  com- 
mon council  to  protect  at  least  the  emblem  of  State  sovereignty 
from  insult,  was  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the  noble  women 
of  New  Orleans,  including  many  of  the  wealthiest,  fairest  and 
highest  in  social  position  in  the  city.  The  reply  of  the  council 
was  feeble  and  embarrassed.  They  passed  a  resolution  de- 
claring that  "ho  resistance  would  be  made  to. the  forces  of  the 
United  States;"  approving,  at  the  same  time,  the  "senti- 
ments" expressed  by  the  mayor,  and  requesting  him  "to  act 
in  the  spirit  manifested  by  them." 

On  the  28th  of  April,  Flag-Officer  Farragut  addressed  his 
ultimatum  to  the  mayor,  complaining  of  the  continued  display 
of  the  flag  of  Louisiana  on  the  City  Hall,  and  concluded  with 
a  threat  of  bombardment  of  the  city  by  notifying  him  to  re- 
move the  women  and  children  from  its  limits  within  forty-eight 
hours.  The  mayor  replied  with  new  spirit,  that  the  satisfac- 
tion which  was  asked  at  the  hands  of  a  vanquished  people, 


358  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

that  they  should  lower  with  their  own  hands  their  State  -flag, 
and  perform  an  act  against  which  their  natures  rebelled,  would 
not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  given  ;  that  there  was  no 
possible  exit  from  the  city  for  its  immense  population  of  the 
women  and  children,  and  that  if  the  enemy  chose  to  murder , 
them  on  a  question  of  etiquette,  he  might  do  his  pleasure. 

In  the  delay  of  the  enemy's  actual  occupation  of  the  city, 
while  the  correspondence  referred  to  between  the  mayor  and 
the  enemy  was  in  progress,  the  confidence  of  the  people  of 
New  Orleans  had,  in  a  measure,  been  rallied.  There  were  yet 
some  glimmers  of  hope.  They  thought  that,  with  the  forts 
still  holding  out,  and  the  enemy's  transports  unable  to  get  up 
the  river,  trie  city  might  'be  saved.  The  fleet  had*  no  forces 
with  which  to  occupy  it,  and  there  was  no  access  for  an  army 
except  by  way  of  the  lakes.  They  had  determined  to  cut  the  • 
levee  below  should  Gen.  Butler,  in  command  of  the  land  forces, 
.attempt  an  approach  from  Lake  Borgue,  and  above- the  city, 
should  he  make  the  effort  from  Lake  Pontchartrain.  In  the 
last  resort,  they  were  determined  to  man  the  lines  around  the 
cky,  armed  with  such  weapons  as  they  could  procure,  and 
fight  the  Federal  land  forces  whenever  they  might  make  their 
appearance. 

These  hopes  were  suddenly  dispelled  by  tjae  unexpected  news 
of  the  fall  of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip.  Fort  Jackson  had 
been  very  little  damaged  in  the  bombardment.  It  yielded 
because  of  a  mutiny  of  three  or  four  hundred  of  the  garrison, 
who  refused  to  obey  the'  commands  of  its  brave  officer,  General 
Duncan.  He  had  no  alternative  but  to  give  up  the  place.  At 
the  first  signs  of  the  mutinous  disposition,  he  threatened  to 
turn  his  guns  on  his  own  men,  but  found  a  large  number  of 
them  spiked.  He  surrendered,  in  fact,  to  his  own  garrison. 
The  post  could,  probably,  have  been  held,  if  the  men  had 
stood  to  their  guns.  He  stated  this  in  an  address  on  the  levee 
to  the  people,  and,  while  stating  it,  cried  like  a  child. 

The  news  of  the  surrender  of  the  river  forces  effected  a  sud- 
den change  in  the  views  of  Flag-Officer  Farragut.     He  was 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  359 

evidently  anxious  lest  Gen.  Butler,  to  whose  transports  a  way 
had  now  been  opened  to  the  city,  should  arrive  before  he  could 
consummate  the  objects  of  his  expedition.  He  had  already 
involved  himself  in  a  maze  of  incongruities  and  contradictions. 
First,  he  demanded  peremptorily  that  the  flag  should  be  taken 
down ;  then  he  insisted  that  it  should  be  removed  before  12  M. 
on  Saturday,  the  28th ;  on  Monday,  he  repeated  the  demand, 
under  a  threat  of  bombardment,  giving  forty-eight  hours  for 
the  removal  of  the  women  and  children.  On  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, he  reiterated  his  peremptory  demand,  but,  within  an  hour, 
he  agreed  to  waive  everything  he  had  claimed,  and  reluctantly 
consented  to  send. his  own  forces  to  take  down  the  flag. 

About  noon,  a  Federal  force,  consisting  of  about  two  hun- 
dred armed  marines,  and  a  number  of  sailors,  dragging  two 
brass  howitzers,  appeared  in  front  of  the  City  Hall,  and  the 
officer  in  command,  mounting  to  the  dome  of  the  building,  re- 
moved the  flag  of  the  State  in  sight  of  an  immense  crowd  of 
the  citizens  of  New  Orleans.  No  interruption  was  offered  to 
the  small  party  of  the  Federals,  and  the  idle  utterances  of 
curiosity  were  quelled  by-  the  sadness  and  solemnity  of  the 
occasion.  Profound  silence  pervaded  the  immense  crowd.  Not 
even  a  whisper  was  heard.  The  very  air  was  oppressive  with 
stillness.  The  marines  stood  statue-like  within  the  square, 
their  bayonets  glistening  in  the  sun-beams,  and  their  faces  stolid 
witji  indifference.  Among  the  vast  multitude  of  citizens,  the  wet 
cheeks  of  women  and  the  compressed  lips  and  darkened  brows 
of  men  betrayed  their  consciousness  of  the  great  humiliation 
which  had  overtaken  them.  But  among  them  all  there  was  not 
one  spirit  to  emulate'  the  devotion  of  the  martyr-hero  of  Vir- 
ginia, who,  alone  and  unaided,  on  the  steps  of  the  Marshall 
House,  in  Alexandria,  had  avenged  with  his  life  the  first  insult 
ever  offered  by  the  enemy  ito  the  flag  of  his  country. 

Thus  was  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans  com- 
pleted. Gen.  Butler  took  possession  on  the  1st  of  May,  and 
inaugurated  an  administration,  the  despotism  and  insolence  of 
which  might  have  been  expected  from  one  of  his  vile  personal 


360  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

character  and  infamous  antecedents.  He  was  a  man  who  had 
all  the  proverbially  mean  instincts  t)f  the  Massachusetts  Yan- 
kee ;  he  had  been  a  disreputable  jury  lawyer  at  home ;  as  a 
member  of  the  old  Democratic  party,  he  had  been  loud  in  his 
professions  of  devotion  to  the  South ;  but  his  glorification  in 
this  particular  had  been  dampened  in  the  Charleston  Conven- 
tion, where  he  pocketed  an  insult  from  a  Southern  delegate,  and 
turned  pale  at  the  threat  of  personal  chastisement.  The  war 
gave  him  an  opportunity  of  achieving  one  of  those*  easy  repu- 
tations in  the  North  which  were  made  by  brazen  boastfulness, 
coarse  abuse  of  the  South,  and  aptitude  in  lying.  We  shall 
have  future  occasion  to  refer  to  the  brutal  and  indecent  des- 
potism of  this  vulgar  tyrant  of  New  Orleans,  who,  in  inviting 
his  soldiers  to  treat  as  prostitutes  every  lady  in  the  street  who 
dared  to  show  displeasure  at  their  presence,'  surpassed  the 
atrocities  of  Haynau,  and  rivalled  the  most  barbarous  and 
fiendish  rule  of  vengeance  ever  sought  to  be  wreaked  upon  a 
"  conquered  people.  If  anything  were  wanting  to  make  the 
soldiers  of  the  South  devote  anew  whatever  they  had  of  life 
and  labour  and  blood  to  the  cause  of  the  safety  and  honour  of 
their  country,  it  was  the  infamous  swagger  of  Butler  in  New 
Orleans,  his  autocratic  rule,  his  arrest  of  the  best  citizens,  his 
almost  daily  robberies,  and  his  "ingenious"  war  upon  the 
helplessness  of  men  and  the  virtue  of  women. 

The  narrative  of  the  fall  of  New  Orleans  furnishes  its  own 
comment.  Never  was  there  a  more  miserable  story,  where 
accident,  improvidence,  treachery,  vacillation  and  embarrass- 
ment of  purpose,  each,  perhaps,  not  of  great  importance  in 
itself,  combined  under  an  evil  star  to  produce  the  astounding 
result  of  the  fall,  after  an  engagement,  the  casualties  of  which 
might  be  counted  by  hundreds,  of  a  city  which  was  the  com- 
mercial capital  of  the  South,  which  contained  a  population  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  souls,  and  which  was  the 
largest  exporting  city  in  the  world. 

The  extent  of  the  disaster  is  not  to  be  disguised.  It  was  a 
heavy  blow  to  the  Confederacy.     It  annihilated  us  in  Louisi- 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  TpE   WAR.  361 

ana ;  separated  us  from  Texas  and  Arkansas ;  diminished  our 
resources  and  supplies  by  the  loss  of  one  of  the  greatest  grain 
and  cattle  countries  within  the  limits  of  the  Confederacy ; 
gave  to  the  enemy  the  Mississippi  River,  with  all  its  means  of 
navigation,  for  a  base  of  operations,  and  finally  led,  by  plain 
and  irresistible  conclusion,  to  our  virtual,  if  not  absolute,  aban- 
donment of  the  great  and  fruitful  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
It  did  all  this,  and  yet  it  was  very  far  from  deciding  the  fate 
of  the  war. 


362  THE   FIRST   YEAR   Off  .THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Prospects  of  the  War. ..The  Extremity  of  the  South. ..Lights  and  Shadows  of 
the  Campaign  in  Virginia. ..Jackson's  Campaign  in  the  Valley. ..The  Policy  of 
Concentration. ..Sketch  of  the  Battles  Around  Richmond. ..Effect  of  Mc- 
Clellan'a  Defeat  Upon  the  North. ..President  Davis'  Congratulatory  Order... 
The  War  as  a  Great  Money  Job. ..Note:  Gen.  Washington's  Opinion  of  the 
Northern  People. ..Statement  of  the  Northern  Finances. ..Yankee  Venom. ..Gen. 
Pope's  Military  Orders... Summary  of  the  War  Legislation  of  the  Northern 
Congress. ..Retaliation  on  the  Part  of  the  Confederacy... The  Cartel. ..Prospects 
of  European  Interference. ..English  Statesmanship. ..Progress  of  the  War  in 
the  West. ..The  Defence  of  Vioksburg... Morgan's  Great  Raid. ..The  Tennessee- 
Virginia  Frontier.. .A  Glance  at  the  Confederate  Congress. ..Mr.  Foote  and  the 
Cabinet. ..The  Campaign  in  Virginia  Again. ..Rapid  Movements  and  Famous 
March  of  the  Southern  Troops... The  Signal  Victory  of  the  Thirtieth  of  August 
on  the  Plains  of  Manassas Reflections  on  the  War. ..Some  of  its  Charac- 
teristics...A  Review  of  its  Military  Results. ..Three  Moral  Benefits  of  the 
War. ..Prospects  and  Promises  of  the  Future. 

We  have  chosen  the  memorable  epoch  of  the  fall  of  New  Or- 
leans, properly  dated  from  the  occupation  of  the  enemy  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1862,  as  an  appropriate  period  for  the  conclusion 
of  our  historical  narrative  of  the  events  of  the  first  year  of  the 
war.  Hereafter,  in  the  future  continuation  of  the  narrative 
which  we  promise  to  ourselves,  we  shall,  have  to  direct  the  at- 
tention of  the  reader  to  the  important  movements,  the  sorrow- 
ful disasters,  and  the  splendid  achievements  that  more  than 
compensated  the  inflictions  of  misfortune  in  the  famous  sum- 
mer campaign  in  Virginia.  In  these  we  shall  find  full  confirm- 
ation of  the  judgment  which  we  have  declared,  that  the  fall  of 
New  Orleans,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, did  not  decide  the  fate  of  the  war ;  and,  indeed,  we  shall 
see  that  the  abandonment  of  our  plan  of  frontier  defence  made 
the  way  for  the  superiour  and  more  fortunate  policy  of  the 
concentration  of  our  forces  in  the  interiour. 


THE   FIRST  .YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  363 

The  fall  of  New  Orleans  and  consequent  loss  of  our  com- 
mand of  the  Mississippi  River,  with  all  its  immense  advantages 
of  transportation  and  supply ;  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Johnston's 
forces  from  Yorktown ;  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk,  with  its 
splendid  navy  yard — an  event  accomplished  by  a  mere  brutum 
fulmen^ &nd  without  a  blow  ;  the  stupid  and  unnecessary  des- 
truction of  the  Virginia,  "  the  iron  diadem  <$f  the  South ;"  * 

*  The  destruction  of  the  Virginia  was  a  sharp  and  unexpected  blow  to  the 
confidence  of  the  people  of  the  South  in  their  government.  How  far  the 
government  was  implicated  in  this  foolish  and  desperate  act,  was  never  openly 
acknowledged  or  exactly  ascertained;  but,  despite  the  pains  of  official  con- 
cealment, there  are  certain  well-attested  facts  which  indicate  that  in  the 
destruction  of  this  great  war-ship,  the  authorities  at  Richmond  were  not 
guiltless.  These  facts  properly  bekmg  to  the  history  of  one  of  the  most 
unhappy  events  that  had  occurred  since  the  commencement  of  the  war. 

The  Virginia  was  destroyed  under  the  immediate  orders  of  her  commander, 
Commodore  Tatnall,  a  little  before  five  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  11th  of 
May,  in  the  vicinity  of  Craney  Island.  During  the  morning  of  the  same  day 
a  prominent  politician  in  the  streets  of  Richmond  was  observed  to  be  very 
much  dejected  ;  he  remarked  that  it  was  an  evil  day  for  the  Confederacy.  On 
being  questioned  by  his  intimate  friends,  he  declare!  to  them  that  the  govern- 
ment had  determined  upon,  or  assented  to,  the  destruction  of  the  Virginia, 
and  that  he  had  learned  this  from  the  highest  sources  of  authority  in  the 
capital.  At  this  time  the  news  of  the  explosion  of  the  Virginia  could  not  have 
possibly  reached  Richmond  ;  there  wai  no  telegraphic  communication  between 
the  scene  of  her  destruction  and  the  city,  and  the  evidence  appears  to  be  com- 
plete, that  the  government  had  at  least  a  prevision  of  the  destruction  of  this 
vessel,  or  had  assented  to  the  general  policy  of  the  act,  trusting,  perhaps,  to 
acquit  itself  of  the  responsibility  for  it  on  the  unworthy  plea  that  it  had 
given  no  express  orders  in  the  matter. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  that  for  at  least  a  week  prior  to  the  destruction  of 
the  Virginia,  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk  had  been  determined  upon ;  that 
during  the  time  the  removal  of  stores  was  daily  progressing;  and  that  Mr. 
Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had  within  this  period,  himself,  visited 
Norfolk  to  look  after  the  public  interests.  The  evacuation  of  this  port  clearly 
involved  the  question,  what  disposition  was  to  be  made  of  the  Virginia.  If 
the  government  made  no  decision  of  a  question,  which  for  a  week  stared  it  in 
the  face,  it  certainly  was  very  strangely  neglectful  of  the  public  interest.  If 
Mr.  Mallory  visited  Norfolk  when  the  evacuation  was  going  on,  and  never 
thought  of  the  Virginia,  or  thinking  of  her,  kept  dumb,  never  even  giving  so 
much  as  an  official  nod  as  to  what  disposition  should  be  made  of  her,  he  must 
have  been  even  more  stupid  than  the  people  who  laughed  at  him  in  Richmond, 
or  the  members  of  Congress  who  nicknamed  without  mercy,  thought  him  to  be. 

It  is  also  not  a  little  singular  that  when  a  court  of  inquiry  had  found  that 


384  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

the  perilous  condition  of  Charleston,  Savannah  and  Mobile,  and 
the  menace  of  Richmond  by  one  of  the  largest  armies  of  the 
world,  awakened  the  people  of  the  South,  to  a  full  appreciation 
of  the  crisis  of  the  war,  and  placed  their  cause  in  an  extremity 
which  nothing  could  have  retrieved  but  the  undiminished  and 
devoted  spirit  of  their  brave  soldiers  in  the  field.         » 

We  shall'  havfe,  however,  to  mingle  with  this  story  of  disas- 
ters, the  triumphs,  not  indeed  of  the  government,  but  of  brave 
and  adventurous  spirits  in  the  field.  "We  shall  tell  how  it  was 
that  the  retreat  from  Yorktown,  although  undertaken  without 
any  settled  plan  as  to  the  line  of  defence  upon  which  it  was  to 
be  re-organized,  led  to  the  successful  battle  of  Williamsburg; 
we  shall  recount  the  events  of  the  glorious  battle  of  Seven 
Pines,  the  sound  of  whose  guns  was  heard  by  the  people  of 
Richmond  and  was  followed  by  the  speedy  messages  of  a 
splendid  victory ;  and  we  shall  tell  how  it  was  that,  while  the 
news  of  the  destruction  of  the  Virginia  was  still  the  bitterest 
reminiscence  of  the  people  of  the  South,  and  while  Secretary 
Mallory  was  making  a  drivelling  show  of  alacrity  to  meet  the 
enemy  by  advertising  for  "timber"  to  construct  new  naval 
defences,  a  powerful  flotilla  of  Yankee  gun-boats  was  repulsed 
by  a  battery  of  four  guns  on  the  banks  of  James  River,  and 
the  scale  of  war  turned  by  even  such  a  small  incident  as  the 
action  of  Drewry's  Bluff.  In  this  connection,  too,  we  shall  have 
to  record  the  evidences  of  the  heroic  spirit  that  challenged  the 
approaching  enemy ;  the  noble  resolution  of  the  citizens  of 
Richmond  to  see  their  beautiful  city  consigned  to  the  horrors 
of  a  bombardment,  rather  than  to  the  hands  of  the  enemy ; 
and  the  brave  resolution  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  which 
put  the  Confederate  authorities   to  shame,  and  infused  the 


the  destruction  of  the  Virginia  was  unnecessary  and  improper,  Mr.  Mallory 
should  have  waived  the  calling  of  a  court  martial,  forgotten  what  was  due  to 
the  public  interest  on  such  a  finding  as  that  made  by  the  preliminary  court, 
and  expressed  himself  satisfied  to  let  the  matter  rest.  The  fact  is  indisputa- 
ble, that  the  court  martial  was  called  at  the  demand  of  Commodore  Tatnall 
himself.    It  resulted  in  his  acquittal. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  365 

hearts  of  the  people,  "with  a  new  and  lively  spirit  of  courage 
and  devotion.  * 

But  we  shall  have  occasion  to  tell  of  even  more  brilliant 
triumphs  of  Southern  spirit,  and  to  explain  how,  for  some  time 
at  least,  the  safety  of  Richmond  was  trusted  not  so  much  to 
the  fortunes  of  the  forces  that  immediately  protected  it,  as  to 
the  splendid  diversion  of  the  heroic  Jackson  in  the  Valley  of 
Virginia. 

We  shall  see  how  this  brave  general,  whom  the  government 
had  determined  to  recall  to  Gen.  Johnston's  lines,  rejected  the 
suggestions  of  the  surrender  of  the  Valley,  and  his  personal 
ease,  and  adventured  upon  a  campaign,  the  most  successful  and 
brilliant  in  the  war.  We  shall  trace  with  particular  interest 
the  events  of  this  glorious  expedition,  and  we  shall  find  reason 
to  ascribe  its  results  to  the  zeal,  heroism  and  genius  of  its  com- 
mander alone.  We  shall  recount  the  splendid  victory  over 
Banks,  the  recovery  of  Winchester,  the  capture  of  four  thou- 
sand prisoners,  the  annihilation  of  the  invading  army  of  the 
Valley,  and  the  heroic  deeds  which  threw  the  splendour  of 
sunlight  over  the  long  lines  of  the  Confederate  host.  The 
reader  will  have  occasion  to  compare  the  campaign  of  General 
Jackson  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia  with  some   of  the  most 


*  "Resolved  by  the  General  Assembly:  That  the  General  Assembly  hereby 
express  its  desire  that  the  capital  of  the  State  be  defended  to  the  last  extre- 
mity, if  such  defence  is  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the  President  of  the 
Confederate  States;  and  that  the  President  be  assured  that  whatever  destruc- 
tion or  loss  of  property  of  the  State  or  individuals  shall  thereby  result,  will 
be  cheerfully  submitted  to." — Resolution  Va.  Legislature,  May  14. 

"  Some  one  said  to  me  the  other  day,  that  the  duty  of  surrendering  the  city 
would  devolve  either  upon  the  President,  the  Mayor  or  myself.  I  said  to  him, 
if  the  demand  is  made  upon  me,  with  the  alternative  to  surrender  or  be  shelled, 
I  shall  reply,  Bombard  and  Be  Damned." — Speech  of  Gov.  Letcher,  May  16. 

"I  say  now,  and  will  abide  by  it,  when  the  citizens  of  Richmond  demand 
of  me  to  surrender  the  capital  of  Virginia  and  of  the  Confederacy  to  the  enemy, 
they  must  find  some  other  man  to  fill  my  place.  I  will  resign  the  mayoralty. 
And  when  that  other  man  elected  in  my  stead  shall  deliver  up  the  city,  I  hop© 
I  have  physical  courage  and  strength  euough  left  to  shoulder  a  musket  and 
go  into  the  ranks." — Speech  of  Mayor  Mayo,  May  16. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR.  366 

famous  in  modern  history.  We  shall  show  that,  in  this  brief, 
but  brilliant  campaign,  a  gallant  Southern  army  fought  four 
battles  and  a  number  of  skirmishes ;  killed  and  wounded  a 
considerable  number  of  the  enemy,  took  several  thousand  pri- 
soners, secured  millions  of  dollars  of  stores^  destroyed  many 
millions  of  dollars'  worth  for  the  enemy,  and  chased  the  Fed- 
eral army,  commanded  by  Gen.  Banks,  out  of  Virginia  and 
across  the  Potomac  ;  and  that  all  these  events  were  accom- 
plished within  the  period  of  three  weeks,  and  with  a  loss 
scarcely  exceeding  one  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded. 

In  this  story  of  disaster,  mingled  with  triumph,  we  shall  be 
disappointed  if  we  do  not  discover  the  substantial  prospect  of 
brighter  fortunes  and  final  triumph  for  the  South. 

Indeed,  the  fact  will  be  shown  to  be,  that  events,  although 
mixed  and  uncertain  to  the  views  taken  of  them  at  the  time  of 
their  occurrence,  were  preparing  the  way  for  a  great  victory 
and  a  sudden  illumination  of  the  fortunes  of  the  South. 

The  disasters  on  the  Mississippi  frontier  and  in'other  direc- 
tions had  constrained  the  government  to  adopt  the  policy  of 
concentrating  its  forces  in  the  interiour  of  Virginia.  The  ob- 
ject of  all  war'  is  to  reach  a  decisive  point  of  the  campaign, 
and  this  object  was  realized  by  a  policy  which  it  is  true  the 
government  had  not  adopted  at  the  instance  of  reason,  but 
which  had  been  imposed  upon  it  by  the  force  of.  disaster. 
There  were  childish  complaints  that  certain  districts  and 
points  on  the  frontier  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Confede- 
rates for  the  purpose  of  a  concentration  of  troops  in  Virginia. 
These  complaints  were  alike  selfish  and  senseless,  and,  in  some 
cases,  nothing  more  than  the  utterances  of  a  demagogical, 
short-sighted  and  selfish  spirit,  which  would  have  preferred 
the  apparent  security  of  its  own  pavticular  State  or  section  to 
the  fortunes  of  the  whole  Confederacy.  The  fact  was,  that 
there  was  cause  of  intelligent  congratulation  even  in  those  dis- 
tricts from  which  the  Confederate  troops  had  been  withdrawn 
to  make  a  decisive  battle,  that  we  had  at  last  reached  a  crisis, 
the  decision  of  which  might  reverse  all  our  past  misfortunes, 


THE  FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  307 

and  achieve  results  in  which  every  State  of  the  Confederacy 
would  have  a  share. 

On  the  Richmond  lines,  two  of  the  greatest  and  most 
splendid  armies  that  had  ever  been  arrayed  on  a  single  field 
confronted  each  other;  every  accession  that  could  be  procured 
from  the  most  distant  quarters  to  their  numbers,  and  every- 
thing that  could  be  drawn  from  the  resources  of  the  respective 
countries  of  each,  had  been  made  to  contribute  to  the  strength 
and  splendour  of  the  opposing  hosts. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  North  had  taxed 
its  resources  for  the  capture  of  Richmond ;  nothing  was  omit- 
ted for  the  accomplishment  of  this  event;  the  way  had  to  be 
opened  to  the  capital  by  tedious  and  elaborate  operations  on 
the  frontier  of  Virginia  ;  this  accomplished,  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond was  surrounded  by  an  army  whose  numbers  was  all  that 
could  be  desired  ;  composed  of  picked  forces  ;  having  every 
advantage  that  science  and  art  could  bestow  in  fortifications 
and  every  appliance  of  war;  assisted  by  gun-boat  flotillas  in 
two  rivers,  and  endowed  with  everything  that  could  assure 
success. ' 

The  Northern  journals  were  unreserved  in  the  statement 
that  the  commands  of  Fremont,  Banks  and  McDowell  had 
been  consolidated  into  one  army,  under  Major-General  Pope, 
with  a  view  of  bringing  all  the  Fe'dcral  forces  in  Virginia  to 
co-operate  with  McClellan  on  the  Richmond  lines.  A  portion 
of  this  army  must  have  reached  McClellan,  probably  at  an 
earl}r  stage  of  the  engagements  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. 
Indeed,  it  was  stated  at  a  subsequent  period  by  Mr.  Chandler, 
a  member  of  the  Federal  Congress,  that  the  records  of  the 
War  Department  at  Washington  showed  that  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  had  been  sent  to  the  lines 
about  Richmond.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that,  in  the  memo- 
rable contest*  for  the  safety  of  the  Confederate  capital,  we 
engaged  an  army  whose  superiority  in  numbers  to  us  was 
largely  increased  by  timely  reinforcements,  and  with  regard  to. 


368  T^E   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

the  operations  of  which  thp  Northern  government  had  omitted 
no  conditions  of  success. 

Of  this  contest,  unparalleled  in,  its  duration;  rich  in  dra- 
matic incident  and  display ;  remarkable  for  a  series  of  battles, 
any  one  of  which  might  rank  with  the  most  celebrated  in  his- 
tory ;  and  distinguished  by  an  obstinacy,  on  the  part  of  the 
sullen  and  insolent  enemy,  that  was  broken  only  by  the  most 
tremendous  exertions  ever, made  by  Southern  troops,  we  shall 
have  to  treat  in  a  future  continuation  of  this  work,  with  the 
utmost  care  as  to  the  authenticity  of  our  narrative,  and  with 
matured  views  as  to  the  merits  and  importance  of  -a  great  and 
decisive  event. 

For  the  present,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  extending,  the 
general  record  of  events  in  this  chapter  to  a  stand-point  of 
intelligent  reflection  on  the  future  of  the  war,  we  must  content 
the  reader  with  a  very  brief  and  summary  sketch  of  the  battles 
around  Richmond. 

SKETCH   OF  THE   BATTLES   AROUND   RICHMOND. 

Upon  taking  command  of  the  Confederate  army  in  the  field, 
after  General  Johnston  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle  of 
Seven  Pines,  Gen.  Lee  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  spirit  of 
that  commander,  which  had  already  been  displayed  in  attack- 
ing the  enemy,  and  which  indicated  the  determination  on  his 
part  that  the  operations  before  Richmond  should  not  degene- 
rate into  a  siege. 

The  course  of  the  Chickahominy  around  Richmond  affords 
an  idea  of  the  enemy's  position  at  the  commencement  of  the 
action.  This  stream  meanders  through  the  Tide-water  district 
of  Virginia — its  course  approaching  that  of  the  arc  of  a  circle 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Richmond — until  it  reaches  the  lower 
end  of  Charles  City  county,  where  it  abruptly  turns  to  the 
south  and  empties  into  the  James.  A  portion  of'  the  enemy's 
forces  had  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and 
were  fortified  on  the  Williamsburg  road.     On  the  north  bank 


THE   FIRST  TEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  369 

of  the  stream  the  enemy  was  strongly  posted  for  many  miles  ; 
the  heights  on  that  side  of  the  stream  having  been  fortified 
with  great  energy  and  skill  from  Meadow  Bridge,  on  a  line 
nearly  due  north  from  the  city  to  a  point  below  Bottom's 
Bridge,  which  is  due  east.  This  line  of  the  enemy  extended 
for  about  twenty  miles. 

Reviewing  the  situation  of  the  two  armies  at  the  commence-  - 
ment  of  the  action,  the  advantage  was  entirely  our  own. 
McClellan  had  divided  his  army  on  the  two  sides  of  the 
Chickahominy,  and  operating  apparently  with  the  design  of 
half  circumvallating  Richmond,  had  spread  out  his  forces  to  an 
extent  that  impaired  the  faculty  of  concentration,  and  had 
made  a  weak  and  dangerous  extension  of  his  lines. 

On  Thursday,  the  26th  of  June,  at  three  o'clock,  Major- 
General  Jackson — fresh  from  the  exploits  of  his  magnificent 
campaign  in  the  Valley — took  up  his  line  of  march  from  Ash- 
land, and  proceeded  down  the  country  between  the  Chicka- 
hominy and  Pamunkey  rivers.  The  enemy  collected  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  at  the  f)oint  where  it  is 
crossed  by  the  Brooke  turnpike,  were  driven  off,  and  Briga- 
dier-General Branch,  crossing  the  stream,  directed  his  move- 
ments for  a  junction  with  the  column  of  General  A.  P.  Hill, 
which  had  crossed  at  Meadow  Bridge.  General  Jackson  hav- 
ing borne  away  from  the  Chickahominy,  so  as  to  gain  ground 
towards  the  Pamunkey,  marched  to  the  left  of  Mechanicsville, 
while  General  Hill,  keeping  well  to  the  Chickahominy,  ap- 
proached that  village  and  engaged  the  enemy  there. 

"With  about  fourteen  thousand  men  (Gen.  Branch  did  not 
arrive  till  night-fall),  Gen.  Hill  engaged  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  until  night  put  an  end  to  the  contest.  While  he  did 
not  succeed,  in  that  limited  time,  in  routing  the  enemy,  his 
forces  stubbornly  maintained  the  possession  of  Mechanicsville 
and  the  ground  taken  by  them  on  the  other  side  of  the  Chick-, 
ahominy.  Driven  from  the  immediate  locality  of  Mechanics- 
ville, the  enemy  retreated  during  the  "night  down  the  river  to 
Powhite  swamp,  and  night  closed  the  operations  of  Thursday. 
24 


370  THE   FIRST   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

The  road  having  been  cleared  at  Mechanicsville,  Gen.  Long- 
street's  corps  d'armee,  consisting  of  his- veteran  division  of  t*he 
Old  Guard  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill's 
division,  debouched  from  the  woods  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy,  and  crossed  that  river.  Friday  morning  the 
general  advance  upon  the  enemy  began ;  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  in 
the  centre,  and  bearing  towards  Cold  Harbour,  while  Gen. 
Longstreet  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  came  down  the  Chickahominy 
to  New  Bridge.  Gen.  Jackson  still  maintained  his  position 
in  advance,  far  to  the  left,  and  gradually  converging  to  the 
Chickahominy  again. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  now  a  singular  one.  One 
portion  of  his  army  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy, fronting  Richmond,  and  confronted  by  Gen.  Ma- 
gruder.  The  other  portion,  on  the  north  side,  had  fallen 
back  to  a  new  line  of  defences,  where  McClellan  proposed  to 
make  a  decisive  battle. 

As  soon  as  Jackson's  arrival  at  Cold  Harbour  was  an- 
nounced, Gen.  l#ee  and  Gen.  Longstreet,  accompanied'  by 
their  respective  staffs,  rode  by  Gaines's  Mill  and  halted  at 
New  Cold  Harbour,  where  they  joined  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill.'  Soon 
the  welcome  sound  of  Jackson's  guns  announced  that  he  was 
at  work. 

The  action  was  now  to  become  general  for  the  first  time  on 
the  Richmond  lines  ;  and  a  collision  of  numbers  was  about  to 
take  place  equal  to  any  that  had  yet  occurred  in  the  history  of 
the  war. 

From  four  o'clock  until  eight  the  battle  raged  with  a  display 
of  the  utmost  daring  and  intrepidity  on  the  part  of  the  Con- 
federate army.  The  enemy's  lines  were  finally  broken  and  his 
strong  positions  all  carried,  and  night  covered  the  retreat  of 
McClellan's  broken  and  routed  columns  to  the  south  side  of 
the  Chickahominy. 

The  assault  on  the  enemy's  works  near  Gaines's  Mills  is  a 
memorable  part  of  the  engagement  of  Friday,  and  the  display 
of  fortitude,  as  well  as  quick  and  dashing  gallantry  of  our 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  371 

troops  on  that  occasion,  takes  its  place  by  the  side  of  the  most 
glorious  exploits  of  the  war.  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  had  made  the 
first  assault  upon  the  lines  of  the  enemy's  entrenchments  near 
Gaines's  Mills.  A  fierce  struggle  had  ensued .  between  his 
division  and  the  garrison  of  the  line  of  defence.  Repeated 
charges  were  made  by  Hill's  troops,  but  the  formidable  charac- 
ter of  the  works,  and  murderous  volleys  of  grape  and  canister 
from  the  artillery  covering  them,  kept  our  troops  in  cjheck.  It 
was  past  four  o'clock  when  Pickett's  brigade  from  Longstreet's 
division  came  to  Hill's  support.  Pickett's  regiments  fought 
with  the  most  determined  valour.  At  last,  Whiting's  division, 
composed  of  the  "  Old  Third  "  and  Texan  brigades,  advanced 
at  a  "  double-quick,"  charged  the  batteries,  and  drove  the 
enemy  from  his  strong  line  of  defence.  The*  works  carried  by 
these  noble  troops  would  have  been  invincible  to  the  bayonet 
had  they  been  garrisoned  by  men  less  dastardly  than  the 
Yankees. 

To  keep  the  track  of  the  battle,  which  had  swept  around 
Richmond,  we  must  have  reference  to  some  of  the  principal 
points  of  locality  in  the  enemy's  lines.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  it  was  on  Thursday  evening  when  the  attack  was  com- 
menced upon  the  enemy  near  Meadow  Bridge.  This  locality 
is  about  six  miles  distant  from  the  city,  on  a  line  almost  due 
north.  This  position  was  the  enemy's  extreme  right.  His 
lines  extended  from  here  across  the  Chickahominy,  near  .the 
Powhite  Creek,  two  or  three  miles  above  the  crossing  of  the 
York  River  railroad.  From  Meadow  Bridge  to  this  railroad, 
the  distance  along  the  Chickahominy  on  the  north  side  is  about 
ten  miles.  The  different  stages  between  the  points  indicated, 
along  which  the  enemy  were  driven,  are  Mechanicsville,  about 
a  mile  north  of  the  Chickahominy ;  further  on,  Beaver  Dam 
Creek,  emptying  into  the  Chickahominy;  then  the  IS'ew  Bridge 
road,  on  which  Cold  Harbour  is  located;  and  then  Powhite 
Creek,  where  the  enemy  had  made  his  last  stand,  and  been 
repulsed  from  the  field. 

The  York  River  railroad  runs  in  an  easterly  direction,  in- 


372  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

tersecting  the  Chickahominy  about  ten  miles  from  the  city. 
South  of  the  railroad  is  the  "Williamsburg  road,  connecting 
with  the  Nine  Mile  road  at  Seven  Pines.  The  former  road 
connects  with  the  New  Bridge  road,  which  turns  off  and  crosses 
the  Chickahominy.  From  Seven  Pines,  where  the  Nine  Mile 
road  joins  the  upper  one,  the  road  is  known  as  the  old  Wil- 
liamsburg road,  and  crosses  the  Chickahominy  at  Bottom's 
Bridge.    . 

With  the  bearing  of  these  localities  in  his  mind,  the  reader 
will  readily  understand  how  it  was  that  the  enemy  was  driven 
from  his  original  strongholds  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy, and  how,  at  the  time  of  Friday's  battle,  he  had  been 
compelled  to  surrender  the  possession  of  the  Fredericksburg 
and  Central  railroads,  and  had  been  pressed  to  a  position 
where  he  was  cut  off  from  the  principal  avenues  of  supply  and 
escape.  The  disposition  of  our  forces  was  such  as  to  cut  off 
all  communication  between  McClellan's  •  army  and  the  White 
House,  on  the  Pamunkey  River ;  he  had  been  driven  com- 
pletely from  his  northern  line  of  defences ;  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  he  would  be  unable  to  extricate  himself  from  his 
position  without  a  victory  or  a  capitulation.  In  front  of  him 
(the  Chickahominy,  which  he  had  crossed,  being  in  his  rear) 
were  the  divisions  of  Generals  Longstreet,  Magruder  and 
Huger,  and,  in  the  situation  as  it  existed  Saturday  night,  all 
hopes  of  his  escape  were  thought  to  be  impossible. 

On  Sunday  morning,  it  appears  that  our  pickets,  on  the 
Nine  IMKle  road,  having  engaged  some  small  detachments  of 
the  enemy  and  driven  them  beyond  their  fortifications,  found 
them  deserted.  In  a  short  while,  it  became  known  to  our 
generals  that  McClellan,  having  massed  his  entire  force  on 
this  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  was  retreating  towards  James 
River. 

The  entrenchments,  which  the  enemy  had  deserted,  were 
found  to  be  formidable  and  elaborate.  That  immediately 
across  the  railroad,  at  the  six  mile  post,  which  had  been  sup- 
posed to  be  light  earthwork,  designed  to  sweep  the  railroad, 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  373 

turned  out  to  be  an  immense  embrasured  fortification, extend- 
ing for  hundreds  of  yards  on  either  side  of  the  track.  Within 
this  work  were  found  great  quantities  of  fixed  ammunition, 
which  had  apparently  been  prepared  for  removal  and  then 
deserted.  All  the  cannon,  as  at  other  entrenchments,  had 
been  carried  off.  A  dense  c^oud  of  smoke  was  seen  issuing 
from  the  woods  two  miles  in  advance  of  the  battery  and  half 
a  mile  to  the  right  of  the  railroad.  The  smoke  was  found  to 
proceed  from  a  perfect  mountain  of  the  enemy's  commissary 
stores,  consisting  of  sugar,  coffee  and  bacon,  prepared  meats, 
vegetables,  &c.,  which  he  had  fired.  The  fields  and  woods 
around  this  spot  were  covered  with  every  description  of  cloth- 
ing and  camp  equipage.  No  indication  was  wanting  that  the 
enemy  had  left  this  encampment  in  haste  and  disorder. 

The  enemy  had  been  imperfectly  watched  at  a  conjuncture 
the  most  critical  in  the  contest,  and  through  an  omission  of 
our  guard — the  facts  of  which  are  yet  the  subject  of  some  con- 
troversy— McClellan  had  succeeded  in  massing  his  entire  force, 
and  taking  up  a  line  of  retreat,  by  which  he  hoped  to  reach 
the  cover  of  his  gun-boats  on  the  James.  But  the  most  un-v 
fortunate  circumstance  to  us  was,  that  since  the  enemy  had 
escaped  from  us  in  his  fortified  camp,  his  retreat  was  favoured 
by  a  country,  the  characteristics  of  which  are  unbroken  forests 
and  wide  swamps,  where  it  was  impossible  to  pursue  him  with 
rapidity,  and  extremely  difficult  to  reconnoitre  his*position  so 
as  to  bring  him  to  decisive  battle. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  divisions  of  Generals  Hill  and  Long- 
street  crossed  the  Chickahominy,  and  were,  during  the  whole  of 
the  day,  moving  in  the  hunt  for  the  enemy.  The  disposition  which 
was  made  of  our  forces  brought  Gen.  Longstreet  on  the  enemy's 
front,  immediately  supported  by  Gen.  Hill's  division,  consisting 
of  six  brigades.  The  forces  commanded  by  Gen.  Longstreet 
were  his  old  division,  consisting  of  six  brigades. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  about  five  miles  northeast  of 
Darbytown,  on  the  New  Market  road.  The  immediate  scene  of 
the  battle  was  a 'plain  of  sedge  pines,  in  the  cover  of  which  the 


374  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

enemy's  forces  were  skilfully  disposed — the  locality  -being 
known  as  Frazier's  farm.  In  "advancing  upon  the  enemy,  bat- 
teries of  sixteen  heavy  guns  were  opened  upon  the  advance 
columns  of  Gen.  Hill.  Our  troops,  pressing  heroically  for- 
ward, had  no  sooner  got  within  musket  range  than  the  enemy, 
forming  several  lines  of  battle#  poured  upon  them  from  his 
heavy  masses  a  devouring  fire  of  musketry.  The  conflict  be- 
came terrible,  the  air  being  filled  with  missiles  of  death,  every 
moment  having  its  peculiar  sound  of  terrour,  and  every  spot 
its  sight  of  ghastly  destruction  and  horrour.  It  is  impossible 
that  in  any  of  the  series  of  engagements  which  had  taken  place 
within  the  past  few  days,  and  had  tracked  the  lines  of  Rich- 
mond with  fire  and  destruction,  there  could  have  been  more 
desperate  fighting  on  the  part  of  our  troops.  Never  was  a 
more  glorious  victory  plucked  from  more  desperate  and  threat- 
ening circumstances.  While  exposed  to  the  double  fire  of  the 
enemy's  batteries  and  his  musketry,  we  were  unable  to  contend 
with  him  with  artillery.  But  although  thus  unmatched,  our 
brave  troops  pressed  on  with  unquailing  vigour  and  a  resistless 
courage,  driving  the  enemy  before  them.  This  was  accom- 
plished without  artillery,  there  being  but  one  battery  in  Gen. 
Hill's  command  on  the  spot,  and  that  belonged  to  Longstreet's 
division,  and  could  not  be  got  into  position.  Thus  the  fight 
continued  with  an  ardour  and  devotion  that  few  battle-fields 
have  ever  Illustrated.  Step  by  step  the  enemy  were  driven 
back,  his  guns  taken,  and  the  ground  he  abandoned  strewn  with 
his  dead.  By  half-past  eight  o'clock  we  had  taken  all  his  can- 
non, and,  continuing  to  advance,  had  driven  him  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  his  ground  of  battle. 

Our  forces  were  still  advancing  upon  the  retreating  lines  of 
the  enemy.  It  was  now  about  half-past  nine  o'clock,  and  very 
dark.  Suddenly,  as  if-  it  had  burst  from  the  heavens*  a  sheet 
of  fire  eriveloped  the  front/  of  our  advance.  The  enemy  had 
made  another  stand  to  receive  us,  and  from  the  black  masses 
of  his  forces,  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been  heavily  reinforced, 
and  that  another  whole  corps  d'armee  had  been  brought  up  to 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  375 

contest  the  fortunes  of  the  night.  Line  after  line  of  battle 
was  formed.  It  was  evident  that  his  heaviest  columns  were 
now  being  thrown  against  our  small  command,  and  it  might 
have*  been  supposed  that  he  would  only  be  satisfied  with  its  an- 
nihilation.    The  loss  here  on  our  side  was  terrible. 

The  situation  being  evidently  hopeless  for  any  further  pur- 
suit of  the  fugitive  enemy,  who  had  now  brought  up  such  over- 
whelming forces,  our  troops  retired  slowly. 

At  this  moment,  seeing  their  adversary  retire,  the  most  vocife- 
rous cheers  arose  along  the  whole  Yankee  line.  They  were  taken 
up  in  the  distance  by  the  masses  which  for  miles  and  miles  beyond 
were  supporting  McClellan's  front.  It  was  a  moment  when  the 
heart  of  the  stoutest  commander  might  have  been  appalled. 
The  situation  of  our  forces  was  now  as  desperate  as  it  well 
could  be,  and  required  a  courage  and  presence  of  mind  to  re- 
trieve it,  which  the  circumstances  which  surrounded  them  were 
not  well  calculated  to  inspire.  They  had  fought  for  five  or  six 
hours  without  reinforcements.  All  our  reserves  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  action.  Wilcpx's  brigade,  which  had  been  almost  an- 
nihilated, was  re-forming  in  the  rear. 

Riding  rapidly  to  the  position  of  this  briga'de,  General  Hill 
brought  them  by  great  exertions,  up  to  the  front,  to  check  the 
advance  of  the  now  confident,  cheering  enemy.  Catching  the 
spirit  of  their  commander,  the  brave,  but  jaded  men,  moved  up 
to  the  front,  replying  to  the  enemy's  cheers  with  shouts  and 
yells.  At  this  demonstration,  which  the  enemy,  ho  doubt,  sup- 
posed signified  heavy  reinforcements,  he  stopped  his  advance. 
It  was  now  about  half-past  ten  o'clock  in  the  night.  The 
enemy  had  been  arrested;  and  the  fight — one  of  the  most  re- 
markable, long-contested  and  gallant  ones  that  had  yet  occurred 
on  our  lines— rwas  concluded  with  the  achievement  of  a  field 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  which  the  enemy,  with  the 
most  overpowering  numbers  brought  up  to  reinforce  him,  had 
not  succeeded  in  reclaiming. 

General  Magruder's  division  did  not  come  up  until  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  after  the  fight  had  been  concluded.    By  orders 


376  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

• 

from  Gen.  Lee,  Magruder  moved  upon  and  occupied  the  battle- 
ground; General  Hill's  command  being  in  such  a  condition  of 
prostration  from  their  long  and  toilsome  fight,  and  suffering  in 
killed  and  wounded,  that  it  Was  proper  they  should  be.  relieved 
by  the  occupation  of  the  battle-ground  by  a  fresh  corps  oVarmee. 
Early  on  Tuesday  morning  the  enemy,  from  the  position  to 
which  he  had  been  driven  the  night  before,  continued  his  re- 
treat in  a  southeasterly  direction  towards  his  gun-boats  on 
James  River.  At  eight  o'clock  Magruder  recommenced  the 
pursuit,  advancing  cautiously,  but  steadily,  and  shelling  the 
forests  and  swamps  in  front  as  he  progressed.  This  method  of 
advance  was  kept  up  throughout  the  morning  and  until  four 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  without  coming  up  with  the  enemy.  But  be- 
tween four  and  five  o'clock  our  troops  reached  a  large  open 
field,  a  mile  long  and  three-quarters  in  width,  on  the  farm  of 
Dr.  Carter.  The  enemy  were  discovered  strongly  entrenched 
in  a  dense  forest  on  the  other  side  of  this  field.  Their  artillery, 
numbering  about  fifty  pieces,  could  be  plainly  seen  bristling  over 
their  freshly  constructed  earth-works.  At  ten  minutes  before  five 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  Gen.  Magruder  ordered  his  men  to  charge  across 
the  field  and  drive  the  enemy  from  their  position.  Gallantly 
they  sprang  to  the  encounter,  rushing  into  the  field  at  a  full 
run.  Instantly,  from  the  line  of  the  enemy's  breastworks,  a 
murderous  storm  of  grape  and  canister  was  hurled  into  their 
ranks,  with  the  most  terrible  effect.  Officers  and  men  went 
down  by  hundreds;  but  yet,  undaunted  and  unwavering,  our 
line  dashed  on,  until  two-thirds  of  the  distance  across  the  field 
was  accomplished.  Here  the  carnage  from  the  withering  fire 
of  the  enemy's  combined  artillery  and  musketry  was  dreadful. 
Our  line  wavered  a  moment,  and  fell  back  to  the  cover  of  the 
woods.  Twice  again  the  effort  to  carry  the  position  was  re- 
newed, but  each  time  with  the  same  result.  Night,  at  length, 
rendered  a  further  attempt  injudicious,  and  the  fight  until  ten 
o'clock  was  kept  up  by  the  artillery  of  both  sides.  To  add  to 
the  horrours,  if  not  to  the  dangers,  of  this  battle,  the  enemy's 
gun-boats,  from  their  position  at  Curl's  Neck,  two  and  a  half 
\ 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  377 

miles  distant,  poured  on  the  field  continuous  broadsides  from 
their  immense  rifle  guns.  Though  it  is  questionable  whether 
any  serious  loss  was  inflicted  on  us  by  the  gun-boats,  the  hor- 
rours  of  the  figlrt  were  aggravated  by  the  .monster  shells,  which 
tore  shrieking  through  the  forests,  and  exploded  with  a  concus- 
sion which  seeiried  to  shake  the  solid  earth  itself. 

The  battle  of  Tuesday,  properly  known  as  that  of  Malvern 
Hill,  was  perhaps  the  most  sanguinary  of  the  series  of  bloody 
conflicts  which  had  taken  place  on  the  lines  about  Richmond. 
It  was  made  memorable  by  its  melancholy  monument  of  car- 
nage. But  it  had  given  the  enemy  no  advantage,  except  in  the 
unfruitful  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  our  troops,  and  the  line  of 
his  retreat  was  again  taken  up,  his  forces  toiling  towards  the 
river  through  mud,  swamp  and  forest. 

The  skill  and  spirit  with  which  McClellan  had  managed  'to 
retreat  was,  indeed,  remarkable,  and  afforded  no  mean  proofs 
of  his  generalship.  At  every  stage  of  his  retreat  he  had  con- 
fronted our  forces  with  a  strong  rear  guard,  and  had  encoun- 
tered us  with  well  organized  lines  of  battle,  and  regular  dispo- 
sitions of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery.  His  heavy  rifled 
cannon  had  been  used  against  us  constantly  on  his  retreat.  A 
portion  of  his  forces  had  now  effected  communication  with  the 
river  at  points  below  City  Point.  The  plan  of  cutting  off  his 
communication  with  the  river,  which  was  to  have  been  executed 
by  a  movement  of  Holmes'  division  between  him  and -the  river, 
was  frustrated  by  the  severe  fire  of  the  gun-boats,  and  since 
then  the  situation  of  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  that  of  a  divi- 
sion or  dispersion  of  his  forces,  one  portion  resting  on  the  river, 
and  the  other,  to  some  extent,  involved  by  our  lines. 

It  had  been  stated  to  the  public  of  Richmond,  with  great  pre- 
cision of  detail,  that  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the  £8th  of 
June,  we  had  brought  the  enemy  to  bay  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy,  and  that  it  only  remained  to  finish  him  in  a  sin- 
gle battle.  Such,  in  fact,  appeared  to  have  been  the  situation 
then.  The  next  morning,  however,  it  was  perceived  that  our 
supposed  resources  of  generalship  had  giveruis  too  much  confi- 


378  THE   FIRST  TEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

dence ;  that  the  enemy  had  managed  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  critical  position,  and,  having  massed  his  forces,  had  suc- 
ceeded, under  cover  of  the  night,  in  opening  a  way  to  the  James 
River.*  »  • 

Upon  this  untoward  event,  the  operations  of  our  army  on 
the  Richmond  side  of  the  Chickahominy  were  \o  follow  the  fu- 
gitive enemy  through  a  country  where  he  had  admirable  oppor- 
tunities of  concealment,  and  through  the  swamps  and  forests  of 
which  he  had  retreated  with  the  most  remarkable  judgment, 
dexterity,  and  spirit  of  fortitude. 

The  glory  and  fruits  of  our  victory  may  have  been  seriously 
diminished  by  the  grave  mishap  or  fault  by  which  the  enemy 
was  permitted  to  leave  his  camp  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy, in  an  open'  country,  and  to  plunge  into  the  dense 
cover  of  wood  and  swamp,  where  the  best  portion-  of  a  whole 
week  was  consumed  in  hunting  him,  and  finding  out  his  new 


*  A  great  deal  was  claimed  for  "generalship"  in  the  battles  around  Rich- 
mond ;  and  results  achieved  by  the  hardy  valour  of  our  troops  were  busily 
asci'ibed  by  hollow-hearted  flatterers  to  the  genilis  of  the  strategist.  Without 
going  into  anything  like  milftary  criticism,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  difficult 
to  appreciate  the  ascription  of  a  victory  to  generalship,  in  the  face  of  the  ex- 
posure and  terrible  slaughter  of  our  troops  in  attacking,  in  front,  the  formi- 
dable breastworks  of  the  enemy.  The  benefit  of  "generalship"  in  such 
circumstances  is  unappreciable:  when  troops  are  thus  confronted,  the  honours 
of  victory  belong  rather  to  the  spirit  of  the  victors  than  the  genius  of  the 
commander. 

With  reference  to  McClellan's  escape  from  White  Oak  Swamp  to  the  river, 
letters  of  Yankee  officers,  published  in  the  Northern  journals,  stated  that 
when  McClellan  on  Saturday  evening  sent  his  scouts  down  the  road  to  Turkey 
Island  Bridge,  he  was  astonished  and  delighted  to  find  that  our  forees  had  not 
occupied  that  road,  ancf  immediately  started  his  wagon  and  artillery  trains, 
which  were  quietly  passing  down  that  road  all  night  to  the  James  River,  whilst 
our  forc<^  were  quietly  sleeping  within  four  miles  of  the  very  road  they  should 
have  occupied,  and  should  have  captured  every  one  of  the  enemy's  one  thou- 
sand wagons  and  four  hundred  cannon.  It  is  further  stated  in  these  letters, 
that  if  we  had  blocked  up  that  only  passage  of  escape,  their  entire  army  must 
have  surrendered  or  been  starved  out  in  twenty-four  hours.  These' are  the 
Yankees'  own  accounts  of  how  much  they  were  indebted  to  blunders  on  our 
part  for  the  success  of  McClellan's  retreat — a  kind  of  admission  not  popular 
with  a  vain  and  self-adulatory  enemy. 


THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  319 

position  only  in  time  to  attack  him  under  the  uncertainty  and 
disadvantage  of  the  darkness  of  night. 

But  the  successes  achieved  'in  the  series  of  engagements 
which  had  already  occurred  were  not  to  be  lightly  esteemed,  or 
to  be  depreciated,  because  of  errours  which,  if  they  had  not 
occurred,  would  have  made  our  victory  more  glorious  and  more 
confplete.  The  ^iege  of  Richmond  had  been  raised  ;  an  army 
qf  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  had  been  pushed  from 
their  strongholds  and  fortifications,  and  put  to  llight ;  we  had 
enjoyed  the  eclat  of  an  almost  daily  succession  of  victories  ;  we 
had  gathered  an  immense  spoil  in  stores,  provisions  and  artil- 
lery ;  and  we  had  demoralized  and  dispersed,  if  we  had  not 
succeeded  in  annihilating,  an  army  which  had  every  resource 
that  could  be  summoned  to  its  assistance,  every  possible  addition 
of  numbers  within  the  reach  of  the  Yankee  government,  and 
every  material  condition  of  success  to  ensure  for  it  the  great 
prize  of  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy,  which  is  now,  as  far  as% 
human  judgment  can  determine,  irretrievably  lost  to  them,  and 
secure  in  the  protection  of  a  victorious  army. 

The  Northern  papers  claimed  that  the  movements  of  Mc- 
Clellan  from  the  Claickahominy  river  were  purely  strategic,"and 
that  he  had  obtained  a  position,  where  he  would  establish  a 
Dew  base  of  operations  against  Richmond.  Up  to  the  first 
decisive  stage  in  the  series  of  engagements — Cold  Harbour — 
there  were  certainly  plain  strategic  designs  in  his  backward 
movement.  His  retirement  from  Mechanicsvillc  was  probably 
voluntary,  and  intended  to  concentrate  his  troops  lower  down, 
where  he  might  fight  with  the  advantages  of  numbers  and  his 
own  selection  of  position.  Continuing  his  retreat,  he  fixed  the 
decisive  field  at  Cold  Harbour.  Again  having  been  pushed 
from  his  strongholds  north  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  enemy 
made  a  strong  attempt  to  retrieve  his  disasters  by  renewing  a 
concentration  of  his  troops  at  Frazier's  farm. 

From  the  time  of  these  two  principal  battles,  all  pretensions 
of  the  enemy's  retreat  to  strategy  must  cease.  His  retreat 
was  now  unmistakeable ;  it  was  no  longer  a  falling  back  to  con- 


3£0  THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE  WAR. 

centrate  troops  for  action ;  it  is,  in  fact,  impossible  to  disguise 
that  it  was  the  retreat  of  an  enemy  who  was  discomfited  and 
whipped,  although  not  routed. '  He  had  abandoned  the  rail- 
roads ;  he  had  given  up  the  strongholds  which  he  had  provided 
to  secure  him  in  case  of  a  check ;  he  had  destroyed  from  eight 
to  ten  millions 'dollars' worth  of  stores;  he  had  deserted  his 
hospitals,  his  sick  and  wounded,  and  he  had  Jeft  in  our  hands 
thousands  of  prisoners  and  innumerable  stragglers. 

Regarding  all  that  had  been  accomplished  in  these  battles ; 
the  displays  of  the  valour  and  devotion  of  our  troops ;  the 
expenditure  of  blood ;  and  the  helpless  and  fugitive  condition 
to  which  the  enemy  had  at  last  been  reduced,  there  was  cause 
for  ..the  keenest  regrets  that  an  enemy  in  this  condition  was 
permitted  to  secure  his  retreat.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  in 
failing  to  cut  off  McClellan's  retreat  to  the  river,  we  failed  to 
accomplish  the  most  important  condition  for  the  completion  of 
our  victory.  *  But  although  the  result  of  the  conflict  had  fallen 
below  public  expectation,  it  was  sufficiently  fortunate  to  excite 
popular  joy,  and  grave  enough  to  engage  the  most  serious 
speculation  as  to  the  future. 

The  effect  of  the  defeat  of  McClellan  before  Richmond  was 
received  at  the  North  with  ill-concealed  mortification  and 
anxiety.  Beneath  the  bluster  of  the  newspapers,  and  the  affec- 
tations of  public  confidence,  disappointment,  embarrassment 
and  alarm  were  perceptible.  The  people  of  the  North  had 
been  so  assured  of  the  capture  of  Richmond,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  re-animate  them  on  the  heels  of  McClellan's  retreat. 
The  prospects  held  out  to  them  so  long,  of  ending  the  war  in 
"sixty  days,"  "crushing  out  the  rebellion,"  and  eating  victo- 
rious dinners  in  Richmond,  had  been  bitterly  disappointed  and 
were  not  to  be  easily  renewed.  The  government  at  Washington 
showed  its  appreciation  of  the  disaster  its  arjus  had  sustained 
by  making  a  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  additional  troops ; 
and  the  people  of  the  North  were  urged  by  every  variety  of 
appeal,  including  large  bounties  of  money,  to  respond  to  the 
stirring  call  of  President  Lincoln. 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  381 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  North  was  seriously  dis- 
couraged by  the  events  that  had  taken  place  before  Richmond. 
But  it  was  a  remarkable  circumstance,,  uniformly  illustrated  in 
i  the'  war,  that  the  North,  though  easily  intoxicated  by  triumph, 
was  not  in  the  same  proportion  depressed  by  defeat.  There  is 
an  obvious  explanation  for  this  peculiarity  of  temper.  As  long 
as  the  North  was  conducting  the  war  upon  the  soil  of  the  South, 
a  defeat  there  involved  more  money  expenditure  and  more  calls 
for  troops  ;  it  involved  scarcely  anything  else  ;  it  had  no  other 
horrours,  it  did  not  imperil  their  homes ;  it  might  easily  be  re- 
paired by  time.  Indeed,  there  was  some  sense  in  the  exhorta- 
tions of  some  of  the  Northern  orators,  to  the  effect  that  defeat 
made  their  people  stronger  than  ever,  because,  while  it  required 
them  to  put  forth  their  energies  anew,  it  enabled  them  to  tak,e 
advantage  of  experience,  to  multiply  their  means  of  success,  and 
to  essay  new  plans  of  campaign.  No  one  can  doubt  but  that 
the  celebrated  Manassas  defeat  really  strengthened  the  North; 
and  doubtless*  the  South  would  have  realized  the  same  conse- 
quence of  the  second  repulse  of  the  enemy's  movements  on 
Richmond,  if  it  had  been  attended  by  the  same  conditions  on 
our  part  of  inaction  and  repose. 

In  his  congratulatory  address  to  the  army  on  their  victory 
before  Richmond,  President  Davis  referred  to  the  prospect  of 
carrying  the  war-  into  the  North.  His  friends  declared  that 
the  President  had  at  last  been  converted  from  his  darling  mili- 
tary formulas  of  the  defensive  policy ;  that  he  was  sensible  that 
the  only  way  to  bring  the  war  to  a  decisive  point  was  to  invade 
the  North.  But  it  was  urged  that  our  army  was  too  feeble  to 
undertake  at  present  an  aggressive  policy ;  although  the  facts 
were  that,  counting  in  our  immense  forces  under  Gen.  Bragg 
in  the  West,  which  for  months  had  been  idly  lying  in  Missis- 
sippi, we  had  probably  quite  as  many  troops  in  the  field  as  the 
North  had ;  that  delay  could  accomplish  but  little  addition  to 
our  forces,  while  it  would  multiply  those  of  the  North,  its 
resources  of  conscription  and  draft  being  intact ;  that  if  our 
army  was  small,  it  was  due  to  the  neglect  of  the  executive  in 


382  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

enforcing  the  Conscription  Law,  which  should  have  furnished 
three  quarters  of  a  million  of  men ;  and  that  if  reduced  and 
demoralized  by  desertion  and  straggling,  it  was  because  of  the 
weak  sentimentalism  of  our  military  authorities,  which  hesitated 
to  enforce  the  death  penalty  in  our  armies,  or  to  maintain 
military  discipline  by  a  system  much  harsher  than  that  of 
moral  suasion.  Judgment  must  be  taken  subject  to  these  facts 
as  to  how  far  the  government. was  responsible  for  lingering  in 
a  policy  which,  though  of  its  own  choosing  at  first,-  it  at  last 
confessed  to  be  wrong,  and  from-  which,  when  discovered  to  be 
an  errour  and  a  failure,  it  professed  to  be  unable  to  extricate 
itself  on  account  of  a  weakness  of  which  itself  was  sole  cause 
and  author.  Happily,  however,  the  valour  and  devotion  of 
our  troops  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  government,  and  opened  a 
way  in  which  it  had  so  long  hesitated,  and  found  paltry  excuses 
for  its  tame  and  unadventurous  temper. — But  to  this  we  shall 
refer  hereafter. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  completely  the  ordinary  aspects 
of  war  were  changed  and  its  horrours  diminished,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  North,  by  the  false  policy  of  the  South,  in  keeping 
the  theatre  of  active  hostilities  within  her  own  borders.  Defeat 
did  not  dispirit  the  North,  because  it  was  nOt  brought  to  her 
doors.  Where  it  did  not  immediately  imperil  the  safety  of 
the  country  and  homes  of  the  Yankees,  where  it  gave  time  for 
the  recovery  and  re-organization  of  the  attacking  party,  and 
where  it  required  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  nothing 'but 
more  money  jobs  in  Congress  and  a  new  raking  up  of  the  scum 
of  the  cities,  the  effects  of  defeat  upon  the  North  might  well 
be  calculated  to  be  the  exasperation  of  its  passions,  the  inflam- 
mation of  its  cupidity,  and  the  multiplication  of  its  exertions 
to  break  and  overcome  the  misapplied  power  of  our  armies. 

Indeed,  the  realization  of  the  war  in  the  North  was,  in  many 
respects,  nothing  more  "than  that  of  an  immense  money  job. 
The  large  money  expenditure  at  Washington  supplied  a  vast 
fund  of  corruption ;  it  enriched  the  commercial  centres  of  the 
North,  and  by  artificial  stimulation  preserved  such  cities  as 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  383 

New  York  from  decay ;  it  interested  vast  numbers  of  politi- 
cian*, contractors  and  dissolute  public  men  in  continuing  the 
■war  and  enlarging  the  scale  of  its  operations;  and,  indeed,  the 
disposition  to  make  money  out  of  the  war  accounts  for  much  of 
that  zeal  in  the  North,  which  -was  mistaken  for  political  ardour 
or  the  temper  of  patriotic  devotion.* 

*  The  following  is  an  extrect  from  an  unpublished  letter  from  Gen.  Wash- 
ington to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and,  as  an  exposition  of  the  character  of  the 
Northern  people  from  a  pen  sacred  to  posterity,  is  deeply  interesting.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  authenticity  of  the  letter.  It  has  been  preserved  in 
the  Lee  family,  who,  though  applied  to  by  Bancroft,  Irving  and  others  for  a 
copy  for  publication,  have  hitherto  refused  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be 
improper  to  give  to  the  world  a  private  letter  from  the  Father  of  his  Country 
reflecting  upon  any  portion  of  it  while  the  old  Union  endured.  But  now,  that 
"these  people"  have  trampled  the  Constitution  under  foot,  destroyed  tho 
government  of  our  fathers,  and  invaded  and  desolated  Washington's  own 
county  in  Virginia,  there  can  be  no  impropriety  in  showing  his  private 
opinion  of  the  Massachusetts  Yankees  : 

[Copy.] 

Camp  at  Cambiupge,  Aug.  29,  1775. 
Dear  Sir :     *     *     * 

As  we  have  now  nearly  completed  our  lines  of  defence,  we  have  nothing 
more,  in  my  opinion,  to  fear  from  the  enemy,  provided  we  can  keep  our  men 
to  their  duty,  and  make  them  watchful  and  vigilant ;  but  it  is  among  the  most 
difficult  tasks  I  ever  undertook  in  my  life  to  induce  these  people  to  believe 
that  there  is  or  can  be  danger,  till  the  bayonet  is  pushed  at  their  breasts ;'  not 
that  it  proceeds  from  any  uncommon  prowess,  but  rather  from  an  unaccount- 
able kind  of  stupidity  iu  the  lower  class  of  these  people,  which,  believe  me, 
prevails  "but  too  generally  -among  the  officers  of  the  Massachusetts  part  of  the 
army,  who  are  nearly  of  the  same  kidney  with  the  privates,  and  adds  not  a 
little  to  my  difficulties,  as  there  is  no  such  »thing  as  getting  officers  of  this 
stamp  to  exert  themselves  in  carrying  orders  into  execution.  To  curry  favour 
with  the  men  (by  whom  they  were  chosen  and  on  whose  smiles  possibly  they 
may  think  they  may  again  rely)  seems  to  be  one  of  the  principal  objects  of 
their  attention.  I  submit  it,  therefore,  to  your  consideration,  whether  there 
is,  or  is  not,  a  propriety  in  that  resolution  of  the  Congress  which  leaves  the 
ultimate  appointment  of  all  officers  below  the  rank  of  general  to  the  govern- 
ments where  the  regiments  originated,  now  the  army  is  become  Continental  ? 
To  me,  it  appears*  improper  in  two  points  of  view — first,  it  is  giving  that 
power  arid  weight  to  an  individual  Colony  which  ought  of  right  to  belong  to 
the  whole.  Then  it  damps  the  spirit  and  ardour  of  volunteers  from  all  but 
the  four  New  England  Governments,  as  none  but  their  people  have  the  least 
chance  of  getting  into  office.  Would  it  not  be  better,  therefore,  to  have  the 
warrants,  which  tjie  Commander-in-Chief  is  authorised  to  give  pro  tempore, 


384  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

But  while  politicians  plundered  the  government  at  "Washing- 
ton and  contractors  grew  rich  in  a  single  day  and  a  ficticious 
prosperity  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  observer  in  the  cities  of  the 
North,  the  public  finances  of  the  Yankee  government  had  long 
ago  become  desperate.  It  is  interesting  at  this  point  to  make 
a  brief  summary  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  North  by  a 
comparison  of  its  public  debt  with  the  assets  of  the  government. 

The  debt  of  the  present  United  States,  audited  and  float- 
ing, calculated  from  data  up  to  June  30,  1862,  was  at  least 
$1,300,000,000.  The  daily  expenses,  as  admitted  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  was  between  three 
and  four  millions  of  dollars;  the  debt,  in  one  year  from  this- 
time,  could  not'  be  less  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  millions 
of  dollars. 

approved  or  disapproved  by  the  Continental  Congress,  or  a  committee  of  their 
body,  'which  I  should  suppose  in  any  long  recess  must  always  sit  ?  In  this 
case,  every  gentleman  will  sta-nd  an  equal  chance  of  being  promoted,  accord- 
ing to  his  merit :  in  the  other,  all  offices  will  be  confined  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  four  New  England  Governments,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  impolitic  to  a 
degree.  I  have  made  a  pretty  good  slam  among  such  kind  of  officers  as  the 
Massachusetts  Government  abounds  in  since  I  came  to  this  camp,  having 
broken  one  colonel  and  two  captains  for  cowardly  behaviour  in  the  action  on 
Bunker's  Hill,  two  captains  for  drawing  more  provisions  and  pay  than  they 
had  men  in  their  company,  and  one  for  being  absenl  from  his  post  when  the 
enemy  appeared  there  and  burnt  a  house  just  by  it.  Besides  these,  I  have  at 
this  time  one  colonel,  one  major,  one  captain  and  two  subalterns  under  arrest 
for  trial.  In  short,  I  spare  none,  and  yet  fear  ifwill  not  all  do,  as  these 
people  seem  to  be  too  inattentive  to  everything  but  their  interest. 

********* 

There  have  been  so  many  great  and  capital  errours  and  abuses  to  rectify — so 
many  examples  to  make,  and  so  little  inclination  in  the  officers  of  inferiour 
rank  to  contribute  their  aid  to  accomplish  this  work,  that  my  life  has  been 
nothing  else  (since  I  came  here)  but  one  continual  round  of  vexation  and 
fatigue.  In  short  no  pecuniary  recompense  could  induce  me  to  undergo  "what 
I  have;  especialty,  as  I  expect,  by  showing  so  little  countenance  to  irregu-. 
larities  and  public  abuses  as  to  render  myself  very  obnoxious  to  a  great  part 
of  these  people.  But  as  I  have  already  greatly  exceeded  the  bounds  of  a 
letter,  I  will  not  trouble  ybu  with  matters  relative  to  my  own  feelings. 
Your  affectionate  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

Richard  Henry  Lee,  Esq.  . 


THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  385 

Under  the  census  of  1860,  all" the  property  of  every  kind  in 
all  the  States  was  estimated  at  less  than  $12,500,000,000. 
Since  the  war  commenced,  the  depreciation  has  been  at  least 
one-fourth— $3,175,000,000.  From  $  P,375,*000,000  deduct 
the  property  in  the  seceded  States,  at  least  one-third  — 
$3,125,000,000; — leaving,  in  the  present  United  States, 
$6,250,000,000. 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  the  present  debt  of  the  North  is 
one-fifth  of  all  the  property  of  every  kind  it  possesses;  and  in 
one  year  more  it  will  be  more  than  one-third.  No  people  on 
earth  has  ever  been  plunged  in  so  large  a  debt  in  so  short  a 
time.  No  government  in  existence  has  so  large  a  debt  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  property  held  by  its  people. 

In  continuing  the  narrative  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  we 
shall  have  to  observe  the  remarkable  exasperation  with  which 
the  North  re-entered  upon  this  campaign  and  to  notice  many 
deeds  of  blackness  which  illustrated  the  temper  in  which  she 
determined  to  prosecute  the 'desperate  fortunes  of  the  war. 
The  military  authorities  of  the  North  seamed  to  suppose  that 
better  success  would  attend  a  savage  war,  in  which  no  quarter 
was  to  be  given  and  no  age  or  sex  spared,  than  had  hitherto 
been  secured  to  such  hostilities  as  are  alone  .recognized  to  be 
lawful  by  civilized  men  in  modern  times.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  comment  at  length  upon  this  fallacy.  Brutality  in  war  was 
mistaken  for  vigour.  War  is  not  emasculated  by  the  observ- 
ances of  civilization  ;  its  vigour  and  success  consist  in  the 
resources  of  generalship,  the  courage  of  troops,  the  moral 
ardours  of 'its  cause.  To  attempt  to  make  up  for  deficiency 
in  these  great  and  noble  elements  of  vigour  by  mere  brutal 
severities — such  as  pillage,  assassination,  <fcc. — is  absurd  ;  it 
reduces  the  idea  of  war  to  the  standard  of  the  brigand ;  it 
offends  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  world,  and  it  excites  its 
enemy  to'  the  last  stretch  of  determined  and  desperate  exertion. 

The  North  had  placed  a  second  army  of  occupation  in  Virginia 
under  command  of  Gfn.  Pope,  who  boasted  that  he  was  fresh 
from  a  campaign  in  the  West,  where  he  had  "seen  only  the  backs 
25 


386  THE   IIRST  TEAR   OP  THH  WAR. 

of  rebels."*     This  brutal  braggart  threatened  that  fire,  famine 

*  This  notorious  Yankee  commander — Major-General  John  Pope — was  a 
man  nearly  forty  years  of  age,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  a  citizen  of  Illinois. 
He  was  born  of  respectable  parents.  He  was  graduated  at  West  Point  in 
1842,  and  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  where  he  was  brevetted  captain. 

In  1849,  he  conducted  the  Minnesota  exploring  expedition,  and  afterwards 
acted  as  topographical  engineer  in  New  Mexico,  until  1853,  when  he  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  one  of  the  expeditions  to  survey  the  route  of  th« 
Pacific  railroad.  He  distinguished  himself  on  the  overland  route  to  the  Pacific 
by  "sinking"  artesian  wells  and  government  mqney  to  the  amount  of  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars.  One  well  was  finally  abandoned  incomplete,  and  afterwards 
a  perennial  spring  was  found  by  other  parties  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  In 
a  letter  to  Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  urging  this  route  to  the 
Pacific  and  the  boring  these  wells,  Pope  made  himself  the  especial  champion  of 
the  South. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Pope  was  made  a  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers.  He  held  a  command  in  Missouri  for  some  time  before  he  became 
particularly  noted.  When  General  Halleck  took  charge  of  the  disorganized 
department,  Pope  was  placed  in  command  of  the  District  of  Central  Mis- 
souri. He  was  afterwards  sent  to  Southeastern  Missouri.  The  cruel  disposi- 
tion of  the  man,  of  which  his  rude  manners  and  a  vulgar  bearded  face,  with 
coarse  skin,  gave  indications,  found  an  abundant  field  for  gratification  in  this 
unhappy  State.  His  proceedings  in  Missouri  will  challenge  a  comparison  with 
the  most  infernal  record  ever  bequeathed  by  the  licensed  murderer  to  the  ab- 
horrence of  mankind.  And  yet  it  was  his  first  step  in  blood — tfie  fir6t  oppor- 
tunity he  had  ever  had  to  feast  hi»  eyes  upon  slaughter  and  regale  his  ears 
with  the  cries  »f  human  agony. 

Having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  Pope  was  n«xt  ap- 
pointed to  act  at  the  head  of  a  corps  to  co-operate  with  Halleck  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  Corinth.  After  the  evacuation  of  Corinth  by  General  Beuaregard,  Pope 
was  sent  by  Halleck  to  annoy  the  rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  but  Beaure- 
gard turned  upon  and  repulsed  his  pursuit.  The  report  of  Pope  to  Halleck, 
that  he  had  captured  10,000  of  Beauregard's  army  and  15,000  stand  of  arms, 
when  he  had  not  taken  a  man  or  a  musket,  stands  alone  in  the  history  of 
lying.     It  left  him  without  a  rival  in  that  respectable  art. 

Such  was  the  man  who  took  confmand  of  the  enemy's  forces  in  Northern 
Virginia.  His  bluster  was  as  excessive  as  his  accomplishments  in  falsehood. 
He  was  described  in  a  Southern  newspaper  as  "  a  Yankee  compound  of  Bo- 
badil  and  Munchausen."  His  proclamation,  that  he  had  seen  nothing  of  his 
enemies  "but  their,  backs,"  revived  an  ugly  story  in  his  private  life,  and  gave 
occasion  to  the  witty  interrogatory,  if  the  gentleman  who  cowhided  him  for 
offering  an  indignity  to  a  lady  was  standing  with  his'  back  to  him  when  he 
inflicted  the  chastisement !  The  fact  was,  that  Pope  had  won  his  baton  of 
marshal  by  bragging  to  the  Yankee  fill.  He  was  another  instance,  besides 
that  of  Butler,  of  the  manufacture  of  military  reputation  in  tho  North  by 
eowardly  bluster  and  acts  of  coarse  cruelty  to  the  defenceless. 


THH  PIRST  TEAR   OP  THE   WAR.  387 

* 

and  slaughter  should  be  the  portions  of  the  conquered.  He 
declared  that  he  would  not  place  any  guard  over  any  private 
property,  and  invited  the  soldiers  to  pillage  and  murder.  He 
issued  a  general  order,  directing  the  murder  of  peaceful  in- 
habitants of  Virginia  as  spies  if  found  quietly  tilling  the  farms 
in  his.  rear,  even  outside  of  his  lines ;  and  one  of  his  brigadier- 
generals^  Steinwehr,  seized  upon  innocent  and  peaceful  in- 
habitants to  be  held  as  hostages,  to  the  end  that  they  might 
be  murdered  in  cold  blood,  if  any  of  his  soldiers  were  killed 
by  some  unknown  persons,  whom  he  designated  as  "  bush- 
whackers." 

The  people  of  the  North  were  delighted  with  the  brigandish 
pronunciamentoes  of  Pope  in  Virginia.  The  government  at 
"Washington  was  riot  slow  to  gratify  the  popular  passion ;  it 
hastened  to  change  the  character  of  the  war  into  a  campaign 
of  indiscriminate  robbery  and  murder.  A  general  order  was 
issued  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  directing  the  military  com- 
manders of  the  North  to  take  private  property  for  the  conve- 
nience and  use  of  their  armies,  without  compensation.  The 
public  and  official  expressions  of  the  spirit  of  the  North  in  the 
war  were  even  more  violent  than  the  clamours  of  the  mob.  The 
abolitionists  had  at  last  succeeded  in  usurping  complete  con- 
troul  of  the  government  at  "Washington,  and  in  imparting  to 
the  war  the  unholy  zeal  of  their  fanaticism.  Nine-tenths  of 
the  legislation  of  the  Yankee  Congress  had  been  occupied  in 
some  form  or  other  with  the  question  of  slavery.  Universal 
emancipation  in  the  South,  and  the  utterfc  overthrow  of  all 
property,  was  now  the  declared  policy  of  the  desperate  and 
demented  leaders  of  the  war.  The  Confiscation  Bill,  enacted 
at  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress,  confiscated  all  the  slaves 
belonging  to  those  who  were  loyal  to  the  South,  constituting 
nine-tenths  at  least  of  the  slaves  in  the  Confederate  States.  In 
the  Border  States  occupied  by  the  North,  slavery  was  plainly 
doomed  under  a  plan  of  emancipation  proposed  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
with   the  flimsy  and  ridiculous  pretence  of  compensation  to 


388  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

slaveholders.*  Other  violent  acts  of  legislation  were  passed 
Trith  the  intention  to  envenom  the  war,  to  insult  and  .torture 
the  South,  t'o  suppress  the  freedom  of  public  opinion  in  the 
North,  and  to  keep  the  government  in  the  hands  of  the  fanatics 
and  crusaders  of  Abolitionism.  Disaffection  was  threatened 
with  a  long  list  of  Draconian  penalties.  The  political  scaffold 
was  to  be  erected  in  the  North,  while  the  insatiate  and  unbridled 
fury  of  its  army  was  to  sweep  over  the  South.  "  Rebellion  " 
was  to  be  punished  by  a  warfare  of,  savages,  and  the  devilish, 
skulking  revenge,  that  pillages,  burns  and  assassinates,  was  to 
follow  in  the  bloody  footsteps  of  the  invading  armies. 

To  this  enormous  mass  of  brutality  and  lawlessness,  the  Con- 
federate States  government  made  but  a  feeble  response.  It 
proposed  a  plan  of  retaliation,  the  execution  of  which  was 
limited  to  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  army  of  Gen.  Pope ; 
which,  by  declaring  impunity  to  private  soldiers,  encouraged 
their  excesses;  and  which,  in  omitting  any  application  to  the 
army  of  Butler  in  New  Orleans,  who  had  laughed  at  female 
virtue  in  the  conquered  districts  of  the  South,  and  murdered  a 
citizen  of  the  South  for  disrespect  to  the  Yankee  bunting,  f  was 

*  According  to  the  census  of  1860 — 

Kentucky  had 225,490  slaves. 

Maryland 87,188  " 

Virginia 490,887  " 

Delaware 1,798  " 

Missouri 114,905  " 

Tennessee 275,784  " 

Making  in  the*  whole 1,196,112        " 

At  the  proposed  rate  of  valuation,  these  would  amount  to      $358,833,600 
Add  for  deportation  and  colonization  $100  each,  119,244,533 

And  we  have  the  enormous  sum  of  $478,078,133 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  a  proposition  could  be  made  in  good  faith, 
or  that  in  any  event  the  proposition  could  be  otherwise  than  worthless,  to  add 
this  vast  amount  to  the  public  debt  of  the  North  at  a  moment  when  the 
treasury  was  reeling  under  the  enormous  expenditures  of  the  war. 

-j-  The  act  for  which  William  B.  Mumford  was  executed  by  Butler,  was 
taking  down  the  Yankee  ensign  from  the  Mint  in  that  city  on  the  24th  of 
April.     This  act  of  Mumford  was  committed  be/ore  the  city  of  New  Orleans 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  389 

lamentably  "weak  and  imperfect.  The  fact  was,  that  the 
government  of  President  Davis  had  been  weakly  swindled  in  its 
military  negotiation  with  the  North.  It  was  persuaded  to  sign 
*a  cartel  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  in  which  it  made  a 
present  to  its  enemy  of  a  surplus  of  about  six  thousand 
prisoners;  and  its  weak  generosity  was  immediately  rewarded, 
not  only  by  the  barbarous  orders  of  Pope,  which  were  issued 
just  at  the  time  the  cartel  was  signed,  but  by  the  practical  pro- 
clamation in  all  the  invaded  districts  of  the  South  of  the  policy 
of  the  seizure  and  imprisonment  of  unarmed  inhabitants.  Our 
government  had  left  out  of  the  recent  cartel  any  provisions  for 
private  citizens  kidnapped  by  the  enemy;  it  had  left  the 
North  in  the  undisturbed  enjoyment,  in  many  places,  of  the 
privilege  it  claimed  of  capturing  in  our  country  as  many  politi- 
cal prisoners  as  it  pleased;  and  it  had,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  practically  abandoned  the  protection  of  its  own  citizens. 
Before  the  eyes  of  Europe  the  mask  of  civilization  had  been 
taken  from  the  Yankee  war ;  it  degenerated  into  unbridled 
butchery  and  robbery.  But  the  nations  of  Europe,  which 
boasted  themselves  as  humane  and  civilized,  had  yet  no  inter- 
ference to  offer  in  a  war  which  shocked  the  senses  and  appealed 
to  the  common  offices  of  humanity.  It  i3  to  be  observed,  that 
during  the  entire  continuance  of  the  war  up  to  this  time,  the 

Lad  surrendered.  Indeed,  the  flag  was  hoisted  in  the  city  -while  negotiations 
were  being  conducted  betweeu  the  commander  of  the  Yankee  fleet  and  the 
authorities;  aud  under  these  circumstances  the  raising  of  the  enemy's  flag 
was  a  plain  violation  of  the  rules  and  amenities  of  war,  and  an  outrage  on 
the  authorities  and  people  of  the  city.  Taking  the  harshest  rule  of  construc- 
tion, the  act  of  Mumford,  having  been  committed  before  the  city  of  New 
Orleans  had  surrendered,  was  nothing  more  than.an  act  of  war,  for  which  he 
was  no  more  responsible  than  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

The  unhappy  man  was  hung  in  the  open  day  by  order  of  the  Federal  tyrant 
of  New  Orleans.  The  brutal  sentence  of  death  on  the  gallows  was  carried 
iuto  effect  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  spectators.  The  crowd  looked  on, 
scarcely  believing  their  senses,  unwilling  to  think  that  even  such  a  tyrant  as 
Butler  could  really  have  the  heart  for  such  a  wanton  murder  of  a  citizen  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  hoping  every  moment  for  a  reprieve  or  a  pardon ; 
but  none  came,  and  the  soul  of  the  niartyi;  was  ushered  by  violent  hands  into 
the  presence  of  its  God. 


§90  THE  FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

British  government  had  acted  with  reference  to  it  in  a  spirit 
of  selfish  and  inhuman  calculation  ;  and,  there  is,  indeed,,  but 
little  doubt  that  an  early  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  by 
France  was  thwarted  by  the  interference  of 'that  cold  and 
sinister  government,  that  ever  pursues  its  ends  by  indirection 
and  perfects  its  hypocrisy  under  the  specious  cloak  of  extreme 
conscientiousness.  No  greater  delusion  could  have  possessed 
the  people  of  the  South  than  that  the  government  of  England 
was  friendly  to  them.  That  government,  which  prided  itself 
on  its  cold  and  ingenious  selfishness,  seemed  to  have  discovered 
a  much  larger  source  of  profit  in  the  continuation  of  the  Ame- 
rican war  than  it  could  possibly  derive  from  a  pacification  of 
the  contest.  It  was  willing  to  see  its  operatives  starving  and 
to  endure  the  distress  of  a  "  cotton  'famine,"*  that  it  might 
have  the  ultimate  satisfaction,  which  it  anticipated,  of  seeing, 
both  parties  in  the  American  war  brought  to  the  point  of  ex- 
haustion, and  its  own  greatness  enlarged  on  the  ruins  of  a 

*  Great  pains  were  taken  alike  by  the  Yankee  and  the  English  press  to 
conceal  the  distress  caused  in  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Eur.ope  by  the 
withholding  of  Southern  cotton  ;  and  the  specious  fallacy  was  being  con- 
stantly put  forward  that  the  cotton  product  in  the  colonial  dominions  of 
Great  Britain  and  elsewhere  was  being  rapidly  stimulated  and  enlarged ; 
that  it  would  go  far  towards  relieving  the  necessities  of  Europe;  and  that 
one  effect  of  the  American  war  would  be  to  free  England  from  her  long  and 
galling  dependence  on  the  slave  States  of  the  South  for  the.  chief  article  of 
her  manufacturing  industry. 

The  proofs  in  reply  to  the  latter  fallacy  and  falsehood  are  striking  and 
unanswerable.  The  shipments  of  cotton  from  the  British  Colonies,  Egypt, 
Brazil,  &c,  are  actually  falling  off,  and  were  much  less  this  last  summer  than 
for  a  corresponding  period  of  the  year  before.  The  evidence  of  this  fact  is 
furnished  in  the  cotton  circulars  of  Manchester. 

India  seems  to  have  been  cleared  out  by  the  large  shipments  of  last  year, 
and  the  shipments  to  Europe,  from  the  1st  of  January  to  the  last  week  in 
May,  showed  a  deerease  of  100,000  bales;  the  figures  being  251,000  bales 
against  351,000  last  year.  From  the  large  proportional  consumption  of  Surat 
cotton,  the  stock  at  Liverpool  of  this  description,  which,  on  the  1st  of  January 
last,  stood  at  295,000  bales  against  130,000  last  year,  was,  about  the  close  of 
May,  reduced  to  170,000  against  133,000  last  year;  while  in  the  quantity 
afloat  the  figures  were  still  more  unfavourable,  viz:  184,000  bales  against 
258,000. 

The  downward  progress  of  the  stock  of  American  cotton  is  illustrated 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  391 

hated  commercial  rival.  The  calculation  was  far-reaching ;  it 
was  characteristic  of  a  government  that  secretly  laughed  at 
all  sentiment,  made  an  exact  science  of  selfishness,  and  scorned 
the  weakness  that  would  sacrifice  for  any  present  good  the 
larger  fruits  of  the  future. 

In  the  regular  continuation  of  our  historical  narrative,  in 
which  much  that  has  been  said  here  by  way  of  general  reflec- 
tion will  be  replaced  by  the  record  of  particular  facts,  and 
special  comments  upon  them,  we  shall  have  occasion  before 
tracing  the  active  prosecution  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  to 
direct  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  progress  of  events  in 
the  West. 

We  shall  find  many  remarkable  events  to  record  in  this 
direction.  We  shall  see  how  it  was  that  the  evacuation  of 
Corinth  was  determined  ifpon ;  that  the  retreat  was  conducted 
with  great  order  and  precision ;  and  that,  despite  the  boasts 
of  the  North  to  the  contrary,  we  lost  no  more  prisoners  than 
the  enemy  did*  himself,  and  abandoned  to  him  in  stores  not 
more  than  would  amount  to  one  day's  expense  of  our  army. 

We  shall  find  in  the  defence  of  Vicksburg  a  splendid  lesson 
of  magnanimity  and  disinterested  patriotism.  We  shall  see 
how  for  several  weeks  this  city  resisted  successfully  the  attack 
of  the  enemy's  gun-boats,  mortar  fleets  and  heavy  siege  guns ; 
how  it  was  threatened  by  powerful  fleets  above  and  below,  and 
with  what  unexampled  spirit  the  Queen  City  of  the  Bluffs  sus- 


roughly  by  the   following   quarterly  table   prepared  from  the   Manchester 
circulars : 

March,  1861.  -  June. 

In  American  ports 750,000  100,000 

Afloat  and  at  Liverpool 918,000  971,000 

1,G68,000  1,071,000 

March,  1S62.  '  May. 

In  American  ports 30,000  20,000 

Afloat  and  at  Liverpool .....      160,000  108,000 

193,000  128,000 


392  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

tainecl  the  iron  storm  that  was  rained  upon  her  for  weeks  with 
continued  fury.  •    - 

New  Orleans,  Baton  Rouge,  Natchez  and  Memphis  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  Yankees,  and  their  possession  by  the  enemy 
might  have  furnished  to  Vicksburg,  in  its  exposed  and  des- 
perate situation,  the  usual  excuses  of  timidity  and  selfishness 
for  its  surrender.  But  the  brave  city  resisted  these  vile  and 
unmanly  excuses,  and  gave  to  the  world  one  of  the  proudest 
and  most  brilliant  illustrations  of  the  earnestness  and  devotion 
of  the  people  of  the  South  that  had  yet  adorned  the  war. 

The  fact  that  but  little  hopes  could  be  entertained  of  the 
eventual  success  of  the  defence  of  Vicksburg  against  the  pow- 
erful concentration  of  the  enemy's  navy,  heightened  the  no- 
bility of  the  resistance  she  made.  The  resistance  of  an  enemy 
in  circumstances  which  afford  but  a*feeble  and  uncertain  pros- 
pect of  victory  requires  a  great  spirit ;  but  it  is  more  invalu- 
able to  us  than  a  hundred  easy  victories ;  it  teaches  the  enemy 
that  we  are  invincible  and  overcomes  hirn  with  despair ;  it 
exhibits  to  the  world  the  inspirations  and  moral  grandeur 
of  •  our  cause ;  and  it  educates  our  people  in  chivalry  and 
warlike  virtues  by  the  force  of  illustrious  examples  of  self- 
devotion. 

"We  shall  have,  however,  the  satisfaction  of  recording  an 
unexpected  issue  of  victory  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  and 
have  occasion  to  point  to  another  lesson  that  the  history  of  all 
wars  indicates,  that  the  practical  test  of  resistance  affords 
the  only  sure  determination,  whether  a  place  is  defensible  or 
not.  With  a  feeling  of  inexpressible  pride  did  Vicksburg  be- 
hold two  immense  fleets,  each  of  which  had  been  heretofore 
invincible,  brought  to  bay,  and,  unable  to  cope  with  her,  kept 
at  a  respectable  distance,  and  compelled  to  essay  the  extra- 
ordinary task  of  digging  a  new  channel  for  the  Mississippi. 

In  following  the  track  of  detachments  of  our  forces  in  the 
West,  we  shall  refer  to  the  brilliant  movements  across  the 
Mississippi  that  drove  the  enemy  from  Arkansas  and  harassed 
him  on  the  Missouri  border  with  ceaseless  activity,  and  to  the 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  393 

• 

dashing  expedition  of  the  celebrated  John  Morgan  into  Ken- 
tucky. We  shall  see  that  the  expedition  of  this  cavalier  was 
one  of  the  most  brilliant,  rapid  and  successful  raids  recorded 
in  history.  He  left  Tennessee  with  a  thousand  men,  only  a 
portion  of  -whom  were  armed ;  penetrated  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  into  a  country  in  full  possession  of  the  Yankees ; 
captured  a  dozen  towns  and  cities ;  met,  fought  and  captured 
a  Yankee  force  superiour  to  his  own  in  numbers ;  captured 
three  thousand  stand  of  arms  at  Lebanon  ;  and,  from  first 
to  last,  destroyed  during  his  raid  military  stores,  railroad 
bridges  and  other  property  to  the  value  of  eight  or  ten-  millions 
of  dollars.  He  accomplished  all  this,  besides  putting  the 
people  of  Cincinnati  into  a  condition,  described  by  one  of 
their  newspapers,  as  "bordering  on  phrenzy,"  and  returned 
to  Tennessee  with  a  loss  in  all  his  engagements  of  fifteen  men 
killed  and  forty  wounded. 

While  some  activity  was  shown  in  extreme  portions  of  the 
West,  we  shall  see  that  our  military  operations  from  Green- 
brier county,  Virginia,  all  the  way  down  to  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee,  were  conducted  with  but  little  vigour.  On  the 
boundaries  of  East  Tennessee,  Southwestern  Virginia  and 
Kentucky,  we  had  a  force'  in  the  aggregate  of  thirty  thousand 
men  confronted  by  probably  not  half  their  number  of  Yankee 
troops ;  yet  the  Southwestern  counties  of  Virginia  and  the 
Valley  of  the  Clinch,  in  Tennessee,  were  entered  and  merci- 
lessly plundered  by  the  enemy  in  the  face  of  our  troops. 

Turning  for  a  moment  from  the  military  events  of  this 
period,  we  shall  notice  the  re-assembling  of  the  Confederate 
Congress  on  the*  18th  of  August,  1862.  We  shall  then  find 
occation  to  review  the  conduct  of  this  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment,iand  to  observe  how  it  fell  below  the  spirit  and  virtue  of 
the  people  ;  what  servility  to  the  Executive  it  displayed,  and 
what  a  singular  destitution  of  talents  and  ability  was  remark- 
able in  this  body.  Not  a  single  speech  that  has  yet  been  made 
in  it  will  live.  It  is  true,  that  the  regular  Congress  elected 
by  the  people  was  an  improvement  upon  the  ignorant  and  un- 


39|  THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR. 

savoury  body  known  as  the  Provisional  Congress,  which  was 
the  creature  of  conventions,  and  which  was  disgraced  in  the 
character  of  some  of  its  members  ;  among  whom  were  con- 
spicuous, corrupt  and  senile  politicians  from  Virginia,  who  had 
done  all  they  could  to  sacrifice  and  disgrace  their  State,  who 
had  toadied  in  "society,"  as  well  as  in  politics,  to  notabilities 
of  New  Englandj  and  who  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
emasculating  and,  in  fact,  annulling  the  Sequestration  Law,  in 
order  to  save  the  property  of  relatives  who  had  sided  with  the 
North  against  the  land  that  had  borne  them  and  honoured 
their  fathers. 

But  the  regular  Congress,  although  it  had  no  taint  of  dis- 
loyalty or  Yankee  toadyism  in  it,  was  a  weak,  sycophantic  and 
trifling  body.  It  has  made  no  mark  in  the  history  of  the  gov- 
ernment ;  it  was  utterly  destitute  of  originality.  Its  measures 
were  those  which  were  recommended  by  the  Executive  Or  sug- 
gested by  the  newspapers.  It  produced  no  great  financial 
measure  ;  it  made  not  one  stroke  of  statesmanship  ;  it  uttered 
not  a  single  fiery  appeal  to  the  popular  heart,  such  as  is  cus- 
tomary in  revolutions.  The  most  of  the  little  ability  it  had 
was  eaten  up  by  servility  'to  the  Executive ;  and  the  ignorance 
of  the  majority  was  illustrated  by  a  trifling  and  undignified 
style  of  legislation,  in  which  whole  days  were  consumed  with 
paltry  questions  and  the  greatest  measures — such  as  the  Con- 
script Law  * — embarrassed  by  demagogical  speeches  made  for 
home  effect. 

*  The  execution  of  the  Conscript  Law  was  resisted  by  Governor  Brown,  of 
Georgia.  The  correspondence  between  him  and  the  President  on  this  subject, 
which  was  printed  and  hawked  in  pamphlet-form  through  the  country,  is  a 
curiosity.  What  will  posterity  think  of  a  correspondence  between  such  dig- 
nitaries, taking  place  at  a  time  when  the  destinies  of  the  country  trembled  in 
the  balance,  composed  of  about  equal  parts  of  hair-splitting  and  demagogue- 
ism,  and  illustrated  copiously  by  Mr.  Brown  with  citations  from  the  Virginia 
and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798  and  exhumed  opinions  of  members  of  the 
old  Federal  Convention  of  1787  !  The  display  was  characteristic  of  Southern 
politicians ;  in  the  most  vital  periods  of  the  country's  destiny  they  had  an  eye 
to  making  political  capital  for  themselves,  and  in  the  fierce  tumults  of  a  revo- 
lution refreshed  the  country  with  exhumations  from  the  politicians  of  1787 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  •         395 

It  is  difficult,  indeed,  for  a  legislative  body  to  preserve  its 
independence,  and  to  resist  the  tendency  of  the  Executive  to 
absorb  power  in  a  time  of  war,  and  this  fact  was  well  illustrated 
by  the  Confederate  Congress.  One  of  the  greatest  political 
scholars  of  America,  Mr.  iVladison,  noticed  this  danger  in  the 
political  constitution  of  the  country.  He  said : — "  War  is  in 
fact  the  true  nurse  of  "Executive  aggrandizement.  In  war  a 
physical  force  is  to  be  created,  and  it  is  the  Executive  will 
which  is  to  direct  it.  In  war  the  public  treasures  are  to  be 
unlocked,  and  it  is  the  Executive  hand  which  is  to  dispense 
them.  In  war  the  honours  and  emoluments  of  office  are  to  be 
multiplied,  and  it  is  the  Executive  patronage  under  which  they 
are  to  be  enjoyed.  It  is  in  war,  finally,  that  laurels  are  to  be 
gathered,  and  it  is  the  Executive  brow  they  are  to  encircle." 

There  was  but  little  opposition  in  Congress  to  President 
Davis ;  but  there  was  some  which  took  a  direction  to  his  cabi- 
net, and  this  opposition  was  represented  by  Mr.  Foote  of  Ten- 
nessee— a  man  of  acknowledged  ability  and  many  virtues  of 
character,  who  had  re-entered  upon  the  political  stage  after  a 
public  life,  which,  however  it  lacked  in  the  cheap  merit  of 
partisan  consistency,  had  been  adorned  by  displays  of  wonder- 
ful intellect  and  great  political  genius.  Mr.  Foote  was  not  a 
man  to  be  deterred  from  speaking  the  truth ;  his  quickness  to 
resentment  and  his  chivalry,  which,  though  somewhat  Quixotic, 
was  founded  in  the  most  noble  and  delicate  sense  of  honour, 
made  those  who  would  have  bullied  Qr  silenced  a  weaker 
person,  stand  in  awe  of  him.  A  man  of  such  temper 
was  not  likely  to  stint  words  in  assailing  an  opponent; 
and  his  sharp  declarations  in  Congress,  his  searching  com- 
ments, and  his  great  powers  of  sarcasm^  used  upon  such 
men  as  Mallory,  Benjamin  and  Huger,  were  the  only  relief  of 
the  dulness  of  the  Congress,  and  the  only  historical  features  of 
its  debates. 


and  the  usual  amount  of  clap-trap  about  our  "forefathers"  and  the  old 
political  system  that  had  rotted  over  our  heads. 


396         •  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Returning  to  the  history  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  enumerate  another  brilliant  victory  of 
our  arms,  achieved  on  that  fortunate  theatre  of  the  war.  We 
refer  to  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain.  We  shall  find  other 
topics  to  record  in  the  events  which,  at  the  time  of  this  writing, 
are  developing  themselves,  and  reaching  to  the  most  important 
consequences,  both' in  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  We  shall  see 
how  the  great  army  which  McClellan  had  brought  for  the  re- 
duction of  Richmond,  and  in  sight  of  the  church  steeples  of 
that  city,  was  compelled  to  retire  towards  the  Potomac,  with 
its  proud  columas  shattered,  humiliated  and  demoralized ;  how 
Pope,  who  had  entered  Virginia  with  a  splendid  army  and  the 
most  insolent  boasts,  was  ignominiously  whipped  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  and  with  what  agony  of  cowardice  he  sought 
safety  for  his  retreat ;  how  considerable  portions  of  Virginia 
and  Tennessee  were  surrendered  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Con- 
federacy ;  how  the  enemy  in  various  quarters  was  pushed  back 
to  his  old  lines ;  and  how  intelligent  men  in  the  South  saw  for 
the  first  time  certain  and  unmistakeable  indications  of  demorali- 
zation in  the  armies  of  the  North,  brought  on  by  the  remark- 
able train  of  victories  in  Virginia,  extending  from  early  June 
to  September. 

In  these  events  we  shall  find  bright  and  flattering  prospects 
renewed  to  the  South.  Much  of  these  we  shall  find  already 
realized  in  the  events  in  the  midst  of  which  we  write  this  im- 
perfect sketch.  We  shall  trace  the  painful  steps  by  which  our 
worn  troops  advanced  to  meet  another  invading  army  in  Vir- 
ginia, reinforced  not  only  by  the  defeated  army  of  McClellan, 
but  by  the  fresh  corps  of  Generals  Burnside-and  Hunter.  We 
shall  tell  what  hardships  were  endured  by  our  troops,  and  what 
exploits  of  valour. were  performed  by  them  on  this  celebrated 
expedition ;  how  they  were  compelled  to  toil  their  way  with 
inadequate  transportation ;  how  they  crossed  streams  swollen 
to  unusual  height,  and  bore  all  the  fatigues  and  distresses  of 
forced  marches  ;  how  their  spirit  and  endurance  were  tested  by 
repeated  combats  with  the  enemy ;  how  at  last  they  succeeded 


THE   FIRST   YEAR  T)F  THE   WAR.  397 

• 

in  turning  his  position ;  and  how,  having  formed  a  junction  of 
their  columns  in  the  face  of  greatly  superiour  forces  on  the 
historic  and  blood-stained  plains  of  Manassas,  they  achieved 
there  the  ever  memorable  victory  of  the  Thirtieth  of  August, 
1862,  the  crowning  triumph  of  their  toil  and  valour.  A 
nation's  gratitude  is  evoked  to  repay  all  that  is  due  to  the 
valour  of  our  troops  and  the  providence  of  Almighty  God.* 

We  do  not  trust  ourselves  to  predict  the  consequences  of  cur- 
rent events  ;  and  the  brilliant  story  of  Manassas,  grouped  -with 
cotemporary  victories  in  the  West,  must  be  left  to  the  decisions 
of  the  future — trusting  as  \yc  do  that  we  may  have  occasion  to 
record  in  another  volume  the  consequences  as  well  as  the  details 


.  *  The  vulgar  and  unintelligent  mind  worships  success.  The  extraordinary 
and  happy  train  of  victories*  in  Virginia  seems  to  have  had  no  other  signifi- 
cance or  interest  to  a  number  of  grovelling  minds  in  tho  South,  than  as  a 
contribution  to  the  personal  fame  of  General  Lee,  who  by  no  fault  of  his  own, 
(for  no  one  had  more  modesty,  more  Christian  dignity  of  behaviour,  and  a 
purer  conversation,)  was  followed  by  toadies,  flatterers,  and  newspaper  sneaks 
in  epaulets,  who  made  him  ridiculous  by  their  servile  obeisances  and  excess 
of  praise.  The  author  does  not  worship  success.  lie  trusts,  however,  that 
he  has  intelligence  enough  to  perceive  merit,  without  being  prompted  by  the 
vulgar  cry  ;  he  is  sure  that  he  has  honesty  and  independence  enough  to 
acknowledge  it  where  he  believes  it  to  exist.  The  estimation  of  General  Lee, 
made  in  some  preceding  pages,  was  with  referenee  to  his  unfortunate  cam- 
paign in  Western  Virginia';  it  was  founded  on  the  events  of  that  campaign, 
in  which  there  is  no  doubt  Gen.  Lee  blundered  and  showed  an  absurd  miscon- 
ception of  mountain  warfare;  and  so  far  as  these  events  furnished  evidenoe 
for  the  historian,  the  author  believes  that  he  was  right,  unprejudiced  and 
just  in  ascribing  the  failure  of  that  campaign  to  the  misdirection  of  the  com- 
manding general.  If,  however,  it  can  be  shown,  as  now  s,eems  to  be  likely 
from  incomplete  events,  that  on  wider,  clearer  and  more  imposing  fields  Gen. 
Lee  has  shown  qualities  which  the  campaign  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  had" 
not  illustrated,  the  friends  of  this  commander  may  be  assured  that  the  author 
will  be  honest  and  cordial  in  acknowledging  the  fact,  and  that  in  a  future 
continuation  of  these  annals,  justice  will  be  done  to  the  recent  extraordinary 
events  in  Virginia,  fraught  with  so  many  critical  issues  of  the  war,  and  asso- 
ciated with  so  many  reputations  dear  to  the  people  of  the  South.  In  writing 
the  facts  of  this  war,  the  author  takes  no  counsel  of  popular  cries,  and  notions 
fashionable  in  the  newspapers;  he  is  neither  the  panegyrist  nor  the  antagonist 
of  any  clique  ;  he  is  more  pleased  to  praise  than  to  censure,  but  his  aim  is  truth, 
and  he  is  resolved  to  pursue  it,  no  matter  what  popular  prejudice  or  affection 
he  is  compelled  to  crush  in  its  attainment. 


398  THE   FIRST   YEM.R   OF   THE  WAR. 

of  these  events,  and  to  find  in' the  future  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promises  of  to-day. 

*  *  *  *  A  few  general  reflections  on  the  material  and 
moral  phenomena  of  the  war  will  appropriately  conclude  our 
work  for  the  present. 

It  is  a  censurable  practice  to  flatter  the  people.  It  is 
equally  censurable  to  withhold  from  them  the  plain  recognition 
of  their  accomplishments.  The  present  war  will  win  the 
respect  of  the  world  for  the  masses  of  the  people  of  the  Con- 
federate States.  With  inferiour  numbers,  with  resources  ham- 
pered on  all  sides,  we  are  yet  winning  the  issue  of  the  great 
struggle  in  which  we  are  involved.  No  one  claims  that  this  is 
owing  to  the  wisdom  of  our  government.  No  one  ascribes  it  to 
the  ability  of  our  military  chieftains ;  for  blunders  in  our  mili- 
tary management  have  been  as  common  as  in  our  civil  adminis- 
tration. But  there  is  a  huge,  unlettered  power  that  wages  the 
war  on  our  side,  overcoming  everywhere  the  power  of  the  enemy 
and  the  encumbrances  of  our  own  machinery.  It  is  the  deter- 
mined, settled  will  of  the  people  to  be  free,  and  to  fight  them- 
selves free,  that  has  constituted  our  strength  and  our  safety. 

The  existing  war  has,  doubtless,  disappointed  the  wofid  in 
its  meagre  phenomena  of  personal  greatness,  and,  to  Borne  ex- 
tent, has  disappointed  its  own  people  in,  the  bigotry  of  its 
policy  and  the  official  restraint  put  upon  its  spirit.  It  may  be 
said,  with  singular  truth,  that  it  has  produced  or  exhibited  but 
few  great  men — that  it  has  not  raised  up  to  public  admiration 
in  the  South  a  statesman,  an  orator,  a  poet,  or  a  financier,  all 
which  are  generally  considered  as  much  the  natural  products 
of  war  as  military  genius  itself.  For  this  disappointment, 
however,  we  may  find  an  explanation  in  some  degree  satisfac- 
tory. It  is  that  the  very  circumstance  of  the  almost  universal 
uprising  of  the  people  of  the  South,  and  the  equal  measures  of 
devotion  shown  by  all  classes  and  intellects  have  given  but 
little  room  for  overshadowing  names,  and  presented  but  little 
opportunity  for  marked  personal  distinctions  of  greatness. 

After  all,  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  people  that  is  most  sure  to 


THH   FIRST  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  399 

• 

achieve  the  victorious  results  of  revolutions ;  and  on  this  firm 
reliance,  and  not  on  the  personal  fortunes  of  master-spirits,  or 
on  adventitious  aid,  or  on  the  calculations  of  any  merely  ex- 
ternal events,  do  we  rest,  under  Providence,  the  hopes  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  The  verdict  of  the  history  of  the  world 
is,  that  no  powerful  nation  has  ever  been  lost,  except  by  its 
own  cowardice.  All  nations  that  have  fought  for  an  inde- 
pendent existence  have  had  to  sustain  terrible  defeats,  live 
through  deep,  though  temporary  distress,  and  endure  hours  of 
profound  discouragement.  But  no  nation  was  ever  subdued 
that  really  determined  to  fight  while  there  was  an  inch  of 
ground  or  a  solitary  soldier  left  to  defend  it. 

As  far  as  the  war  has  been  fought,  its  results,  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  are  deeply  humiliating  to  the  North.  The  war 
was  commenced  by  the  North  with  the  most  intense'  expres- 
sions of  contempt  for  its  adversary ;  the  idea  of  the  contest 
'being  extended  beyond  a  few  months  was  derided  and  spit 
upon ;  in  that  short  time  it  was  believed  that  the  flag  of  the 
Union  would  float  over  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  South, 
and  the  bodies  of  "  traitors"  dangle  from  the  battlements  of 
Washington.. 

This  was  not  affectation.  It  was  calculated  by  many  people, 
in  a  spirit  of  candour,  that  a  contest  so  unequal  in  the  material 
elements  of  strength  as  that  between  the  North  and  the  South 
would  be  speedily  determined.  The  North  had  more  than  twenty 
t  millions  of  people  to  break  the  power  of  eight  millions ;  it  had  a 
militia  force  about  three  times  as  strong  as  that  of  the  South ; 
it  had  the  regular  army ;  it  had  an  immense  advantage  over 
the  South  in  a  navy,the  value  of  which  may  be  appreciated 
when  it  is  known  that  its  achievements  in  the  war  have  been 
greater  than  those  of  the  land  forces,  and  that  its  strength, 
with  proposed  additions  to  its  aetive  war  vessels,  is  estimated 
to-day  in  the  North  as  equivalent  to  an  army  of  half  a  million 
men. 

Nor  did  the  superiority  of  the  North  end  here.  While  the 
South  was  cut  off  from  the  world  by  the  restrictions  of  th« 


400  THE  FIRST  TEAR  OE  THE  WAR. 

blockade,  without  commerce,  "with  but  scanty  manufactures  and 
few  supplies  on  hand,  the  North  had  all  the  ports  of  the  world 
open  to  its  ships ;  it  had  furnaces,  foundries  and  worksho'ps  ; 
its  manufacturing  resources  compared  with  those  of  the  South 
were  as  five  hundred  to  one ;  the  great  marts  of  Europe  were 
open  to  it  for  supplies  of  arms  and  stores ;  there  was  nothing 
of  material  resource,  nothing  of  the'apparatus  of  conquest  that 
was  .not  within  its  reach. 

These  immense  elements  of  superiority  on  the  part  of  the 
North  have  not  remained  idle  in  her  hands.  They  have  been 
exercised  with  tremendous  energy.  Within  the  last  fifteen 
months  the  government  at  Washington  has  put  forth  all  its 
power  to  subjugate  the  South;  it  has  contracted  a  debt  six  or 
seven  times  more  than  that  of  the  South ;  it  has-  called  out 
more  than  half  a  million  soldiers  ;  it  has  put  Europe  under 
contribution  to  furnish  it  not  only  arms,  but  soldiers  to  use 
them  ;  it  has  left  no  resource  untried  and  omitted  no  condition 
of  success. 

The  result  of  all  this  immense  and  boasted  superiority  on 
the  part  of  the  North,  coupled  with  the  most  immense  exer- 
tions, is  that  the  South  remains  unconquered.  The  result  is 
humiliating  enough  to  the  warlike  reputation  of  the  North. 
It  has  not  been  separated  from  its  feeble  adversary  by  seas  or. 
mountains,  but  only  by  a  geographical  line ;  nature  has  not 
interfered  to  protect  the  weak  from  the  strong ;  three  "  Grand 
Armies"  have  advanced  in  the  Confederate  territory;  and  yet, 
to-day,  the  Yankees  hold  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee  only  the 
ground  they  stand  upon,  and  the  South,  in  spirit,  is  more  in- 
vincible than  ever. 

Nor  has  the  war,  so  far  as  it  has  been  waged,  been  without 
great  moral  benefits  to  the  South.  We  may  indicate  at  least 
three  important  and  inestimable  blessings  which  it  has  con- 
ferred upon  our  people. 

It  has  made  impossible  the  theory  of  the  "  reconstruction" 
of  the  old  Union,  which  was  no  doubt  indulged  in  the  early 
formation  of  the.  Confederate  government.     It  has  carried  a 


THE   FIRST  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  401 

revolution,  which,  if  no  war  had  taken  place,  would  probably 
have  ended  in  "reconstruction,"  on  the  basis  of  concessions 
from  the  Northern  States,  which  would  in  no  way  have  im- 
paired the  advantages  of  the  old  Union  to  them,  to  a  point 
where  the  demand  for  our  independence  admits  of  no  alterna- 
tive or  compromise.  It  has  revealed  to  us  the  true  character- 
istics of  the  people  of  the  North ;  it  has'  repulsed  us  from  a 
people  whose  vices  and  black  hearts  we  formerly  knew  but  im- 
perfectly ';  and  it  has  produced  that  antagonism  and  alienation 
which  were  necessary  to  exclude  the  possibility  6f  a  re-union 
with  them. 

Again :  the  war  has  shown  the  system  of  negro  slavery  in 
the  South  to  the  world  in  some  new  and  striking  aspects,  and 
has  removed  much  of  that  cloud  of  prejudice,  defamation, 
falsehood,  romance  and  perverse  sentimentalism  through  which 
our  peculiar  institution  was  formerly  known  to  Europe.  It 
has  given  a  better  "vindication  of  our  system  of  slavery  than  all 
the  books  that  could  be  written  in  a  generation.  Hereafter 
there  can  be  no  dispute  between  facts  plainly  exhibited  and 
the  pictures  of  romance ;  and  intelligent  men  of  all  countries 
will  obtain  their  ideas  of  slavery  from  certain  leading  and  in- 
disputable facts  in  the  history  of  this  war,  rather  than  from 
partisan  sources  of  information  -and  the  literary  inventions  of 
the  North.  The  war  has  shown  that  slavery  has  been  an  ele- 
ment of  strength  with  us ;  that  it  has  assisted  us  in  the  war ; 
that  no  servile  insurrections  have  taken  place  in  the  South  in 
spite  of  the  allurements  of  our  enemy ;  that  the  slave  has  tilled 
the  soil  while  his  master  has  fought;  that  in  large  districts  un- 
protected by  our  troops,  and  with  a  white  population  consisting 
almost  exclusively  of  women  and  children,  the  slave  has  con-, 
tinued  at  his  work  quiet,  cheerful  and  faithful;*  and  that,  as 


*  The  following  is  taken  from  the  letter  of  an  English  noblemen,  who 
visited  the  South  while  the  war  was  in  its  active  stages,  and  the  result  of 
whose  observations  there,  at  the  time  war  was  racking  the  country  and  many 
of  our  own  whites  were  houseless  and  starving,  was  that  the  condition  of  the 

26 


402  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

&  conservative  element  in  our  social  system,  the  institution  of 
slavery  has  -withstood  the  shocks  of  war  and  been  a  faithful 
ally  of  our  arms,  although  instigated  to  revolution  by  every 
art  of  the  enemy,  and  prompted  to  the  work  of  assassination 
and  pillage  by  the  most  brutal  examples  of  the  Yankee 
soldiery. 

Finally,  the  war  has  given  to  the  States  composing  the  Con- 
federacy a  new  bond  of  union.  This  was  necessary.  Com* 
merce  and  intercourse  had  been  far  more  intimate  between  the 
slave  States  on  the  Lower  Mississippi  and  those  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  than  between  any  portions  of 


negro  slaves  in  the  South  was  "  better  than  that  of  any  labouring  population 
in  the  world." 

******* 

"Amongst  the  clangers  which  we  had  heard  at  New  York  threatened  the 
South,  a  revolt  of  the  slave  population  was  said  to  be  the  most  imminent. 
Let  us  take,  then,  a  peep,  at  the  cotton  field,  and  see  what  likelihood  there  is 
©f  such  a  contingency.  Gn  the  bank  of  the  Alabama  River,  which  winds  its 
yellow  course  through  woods  of  oak,  ash,  maple  and  pine,  thickened  with 
tangled  copse  of  varied  evergreens,  lie  some  of  the  most  fertile  plantations  of 
the  State.  One  of  these  we  had  the  advantage  of  visiting.  Its  owner  received 
ns  with  all  that  hospitality  and  unaffected  bonhomme  which  invariabiy  distin- 
guish a  Southern  gentleman.  Having  mounted  a  couple  of  hacks,  we  started 
off  through  a  large  pine  wood,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  "clearing"  of  about 
two  hundred  acres  in  extent,  on  most  of  which  was  growing  an  average  cotton 
erop.  This  was  a  fair  sample  of  the  rest  of  the  plantation,  which  consisted 
altogether  of  7,000  acres.  Riding  into  the  middle  of  the  field,  we  found  our- 
selves surrounded  by  about  forty  slaves — men,  women  and  children — engaged 
in  "picking."     They  were  all  weU  dressed,  and  seemed  happy  and  cheerful. 

Wishing  to  know  what  time  of  day  H  was,-I  asked  Mr.  the  hour,  -where- 

npon  one  of  the  darkies  by  my  side  took  out  a  watch  and  informed  me. 

"  'Do  your  labourers  wear  watches,  sir?'  I  enquired. 

"  'A  great  many  of  them  have.  Why,  sir,  my  negroes  all  have  their  cotton- 
plats  and  gardens,  and  most  of  them  have  little  orchards.' 

"We  found  from  their  own  testimony  that  they  are  fed  well,  chiefly  upon 
pprk,  corn,  potatoes  and  rice,  carefully  attended  to  when  sick,  and  on  Sun- 
days dress   better  than  their  masters.      We  next  visited  the    '  Station,'  a 

atreet  of  cottages  in  a  pine  wood,  where  Mr.  's  slaves  reside.     These  we 

found  clean  and  comfortable.  Two  of  the  men  were  sick,  and  had  been  visUed 
that  morning  by  a  doctor  ;  in  the  meantime  they  were  looked  after  by  ths 
nurses  of  the  establishment,  of  whom  there  were  three  to  take  care  of  the 
•hildren  and  invalids."  , 


THE   FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  403 

the  Confederate  States.  The  war  has  broken  this  natural 
affinity;  it  has  supplanted  sympathy  by  alienation,  interest  by 
ha'te,  between  the  people  of  Indiana,  Illinois  and.  Ohio,  and 
those  of  Tennessee,  Louisiana  and  Mississippi ;  and  by  the 
principle  of  repulsion  as  well  as  union,  by  the  tie  o£a  common 
bloodshed,  and  the  memory  of  a  common  labour  and  glory, 
the  stability  of  our  Confederacy  has  been  strengthened  and 
secured. 

Such  are  the  inestimable  blessings  which,  although  draped 
in  sorrow  and  suffering,  the  war  has  conferred  upon  the  people 
of  the  South. 

The  resolution  of  the  South  to  achieve  its  independence  has 
been  greatly  encouraged  as  the  war  has  advanced.  It  is  alike 
prompted  by  the  spirit  of  her  people  and  strengthened  by  mo- 
tives which  address  the  judgment.  These  motives  are  explained 
in  the  plain  consequences  of  subjugation.  The  spirit  of  the 
North  in  the  existing  war  has  already  been  developed  far 
enough  to  indicate  the  certain  condition  of  the  South,  if  her 
enemy  should  succeed  in  establishing  his  dominion  over  her 
people.  Thafr  condition  may  be  described  in  confiscation, 
brutality,  military  domination,  insult,  universal  poverty,  the 
beggary  of  millions,  the  triumph  of  the  vilest  individuals  in 
these  communities,  the  abasement  of  the  honest  and  indus- 
trious, the  outlawry  of  the  slaves,  the  destruction  of  agricul- 
ture and  commerce,  the  emigration  of  all  thriving  citizens, 
farewell  to.  the  hopes  of  future  wealth,  and  the  scorn  of  the 
world.  The  resistance  of  such  a  destiny,  properly  conceived, 
will  restore  the  worst  fortunes  of  war,  pluck  victory  from 
despair,  and  deserve  the  blessing  of  Providence,  which  "can 
save  by  many  or  by  few,"  and  which  has  never  yet  failed  to 
reward  a  just  and  earnest  endeavour  for  independence. 

Richmond,  September,  1862. 


APPENDIX. 


• 


The  attention  of  the  author  wjis  directed  to  some  particulars  of  Lis  work, 
which  required  some  correction,  or  explanation,  at  the  time  when  it  was  pass- 
ing through  the  press.  It  was  then  too  late  to  modify  the  passages  referred 
to,  unless  iu  the  form  of  a  postscript  or  appendix.  The  author  congratulates 
himself  that  he  has  found  real  occasion  for  so  few  corrections  or  explanations. 

Page  45. — The  date  of  Anderson's  evacuation  of  Fort  Moultrie  should  bo 
the  26th  of  December  instead  of  the  20th ;  the  errour  occurred  through  a 
mistake  of  the  digit  G  for  0  in  the  rough  notes  of  the  author. 

Page  201. — In  noticing  the  expedition  of  our  cavalry  to  Guyandotte,  we 
should  have  associated  with  this  bold  enterprise  the  name  of  Col.  Clarkson, 
who  originated  it  and  was  entrusted  with  its  execution  by  Gen.  Floyd.  Tha 
services  of  Col.  Clarkson  on  this  and  other  enterprises,  and  his  intrepidity  on 
some  of  the  most  critical  occasions  in  the  Western  Virgiaia  campaign,  deserve 
mention,  and  we  regret  that  we  can  give  it  no  further  within  the  limits  of  this 
postscript  than  to  supply  the  omission  of  credit  justly  due  him  iu  connection 
with  the  famous  expedition  of  our  cavalry  to  the  Ohio. 

Page  280. — The  circumstances  in  which  Governor  Harris  left  Nashville 
were  imperfectly  known  at  the  time;  and  thereis.no  doubt  but  that  some 
injustice  was  done  to  one  of  the  most  ardent  and  courageous  patriots  of  the 
South,  in  attributing  his  conduct  on  this  occasion  to  panic  or  embarrassment. 
The  circumstances  in  which  he  acted  have  been  ascertained  from  unquestion- 
able sources  of  testimony  and  may  be  briefly  narrated  here :  On  the  morning 
of  Sunday,  the  16th  of  February,  at  ten  minutes  after  4  o'clock,  a  messenger 
arrived  at  Gen.  Johnston's  headquarters  at  Edgefield,  opposite  Nashville,  with 
a  dispatch  announcing  the  fall  of  Donelson.  Orders  were  at  once  issued  to 
push  the  army  forward  across  the  river  as  soon  as  possible.  The  city  papers 
or  extras  of  that  morning  published  dispatches  announcing  a  "  glorious  vic- 
tory." The  city  was  wild  with  joy.  About  the  time  the  people  were  assem- 
bling at  the  churches,*it  was  announced  by  later  extras  that  "Donelson 
had  fallen."  The  revulsion  was  great.  Governor  Harris,  however,  had  been 
informed  of  the  fact  early  in  the  morning,  and  had  proceeded  to  Gen.  John- 
ston's headquarters  to  advise  with  him  as  to  the  best  course  to  adopt  under 
the  altered  circumstances.  The  action  of  the  State  authorities  would,'  of 
course,  be  greatly  influenced  by  the  course  Gen.  Johnston  intended  to  adopt 


406  APPENDIX. 

with  the  army.  The  General  told  the  Governor  that  Nashville  was  utterly 
indefensible ;  that  the  army  would  pass  right  through  the  city  ;  that  any 
attempt  to  defend  it  with  the  means  at  his  command  would  result  in  disaster 
to  the  army  and  the  destruction  of  the  city;  that  the  first  and  highest  duty 
of  the  Governor  was  to  the  public  trusts  in  his  hands,  and  he  thought,  to  dis- 
charge them  properly,  he  should  at  once  remove  the  archives  and  public  rec- 
ords to  some  safer  place,  and  call  the  Legislature  together  elsewhere  than  at 
Nashville.  Governor  Harris  did  all  this  quietly,  energetically  and  patriotic- 
ally. Just  as  soon  as  he  had  deposited  these  papers,  he  returned  to  Nash' 
ville.  The  confusion  at  Nashville  did  not  reach  its  height  until  a  humane 
attempt  was  made  to  distribute  amongst  the  poor  a  portion  of  the  public  stores 
which  could  not  be  removed.  The  lowest^passions  seemecf  to  have  been 
aroused  in  a  large  mass  of  men  and  women, .and  the  city  appeared  as  if  it  ^ 
was  in  the  hands  of  a  mQb.  The  military  authority,  however,  (Gen.  Floyd 
having  been  put  in  command  by  Gen.  Johnston,)  asserted  its  supremacy  and 
comparative  order  was  restored.  During  these  excitements  it  became  publicly 
known,  for  the  first  time,  that  Governor  Harris  was  out  of  the  city,  but  few 
really  knowing  that  he  had  quietly  gone  away  in  the  discharge  of  a  public 
duty'.  His  absence  was  wholly  misunderstood,  and,  of  course,  misrepresented. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that,  in  the  course  of  these  misrepresentations  in  the 
newspapers,  injustice  was  done  to  a  man  who  illustrated  his  devotion  to  the 
S.outh  by  distinguished  courage  on  the  battle-field,  and  who,  from  the  moment 
that  he  first  rebuffed  the  Washington  government  in  his  famous  defiance  to 
Lincoln's  call  for  troops  down  to  recent  periods  in  the  history  of  the  revolu- 
tion, had  given  the  most  constant  and  honourable  proofs  of  his  attachment  to 
the  liberties  and  fortunes  of  the  South. 


